Life Happens
by Brianna Sterling
Summary: Ella Dennison is an accomplished smart Doctor. Ella is happy, until life steps in and rears its ugly head. Ella finds herself running to Chicago where life throws her a curveball and she meets someone that is more damaged than her. Can they come together and find solace in each other or does life have another ending planned? Kelly/OC
1. Chapter 1

Hi! So this is my first try at a Chicago Fire FIC. I started watching the show and I fell in love. Mostly with Mr. Taylor Kinney who plays Lt. Kelly Severide. This will switch back and forth between POV's and also I won't follow the episodes but I will pick up some things that happened in episodes. Anyway, like I said, first try, so be gentle and I hope yall enjoy!

**Chapter 1**

Ella laughed as she leaned over the nurse's desk and her friend chatted away about the various men and women that had been in and out of the ER that night.

"So look, right before you got here this like 90 year old man pinched Dr. Addison right on her butt." Beth laughed. Ella laid her head in her hands and tried to hide her laugh as Dr. Addison approached them.

"Beth, did you tell her?!" Vicky Addison asked as her face turned red.

"It's ok Vicky, it's not like it hasn't happened to us all." Ella said patting her friend on the arm.

"Yeah well I refuse to go back in there. So here, you take him." Vicky said passing Ella the file. Ella pursed her lips and shook her head.

"No, no, I took that man with the pee stains last night." Ella said.

"Seniority Dr. Dennison. I've been here much longer." Vicky said in a sing song voice as she chuckled.

"I really hate you." Ella said. Vicky tapped her friend on the nose and skipped away. Ella rolled her eyes and turned to Beth, she missed the fact that her sleeve slid up her arm and her blue and purple wrist came into view.

"Whoa, what happened here?" Beth asked pointing to the bruise that wrapped around her friend's wrist.

"Nothing, nothing, I must've hit it on something." Ella smiled as she tugged her sleeve back down. Beth gave her a wary glance and Ella smiled reassuringly.

"I'll see you soon." She smiled and headed into her new patient's room.

* * *

Ella slid out of her car and made sure her garage door was closed as she went into her house. She locked the door and frowned as soon as she saw the laundry lying in the floor. She moved into the living room and spotted the source of all her trouble. Her ex husband, sitting happily on her couch watching TV.

"I asked you to do the laundry today." She said as she sat down her purse.

"Yeah, I heard you." He said. Ella ground her teeth and crossed her arms. She'd married Bennet Sanders 3 years ago, he had been her high school sweet heart, but after just two years of marriage they'd quickly learned they just weren't compatible. They'd divorced and shortly after Bennet had lost his job. They'd stayed on friendly terms and Ella had invited him to move in with her until he got back on his feet, unfortunately that was a year ago, and instead of looking for a job, he sat on his ass all day and drank. Ella grabbed the three beer bottles on the counter and tossed them in the trash.

"I was saving those." He called from the couch. Ella looked up as him as she washed her hands and frowned again. He was drunk, she could tell.

"For what exactly?" Ella asked. She immediately regretted it, she knew better than to push his buttons when he was drunk. He stood up and stomped toward her.

"Why do you want to make me mad, I love you Ella, but when you piss me off, I just can't help but want to hit you." He growled in her ear. Ella pushed away from him and lifted the phone.

"You keep your hands off me. I feel bad for you Bennet, because I know what addiction does to people, but if you touch me again, I'll call the police." She said. He looked at the phone and laughed.

"What are the cops going to do Ella? Arrest me? I'll be in jail less than 2 days, and when I get out, I'll come right back baby. You invited me in the house to live here, you can't kick me out." He smirked.

"I'll get a restraining order." Ella said, she was starting to get scared, but she wouldn't dare show it. He laughed again and ripped the phone out of her hand and threw it aside. It crashed to the floor and broke. Ella couldn't help but jump as it hit the floor and broke with a loud bang.

"What are you going to do if I come around? Throw it at me?" he asked laughing some more. He leaned in and pressed his body against hers.

"Get off me." she growled and shoved against his chest. He grabbed her wrists and jerked them down. She winced in pain as the bruised area was again harmed. He leaned down and pressed his lips to her neck and Ella tired not to gag as the overwhelming smell of alcohol slipped into her nose. Ella jerked with all her might and freed her right hand. He didn't expect it as she slammed her fist into his nose. He stumbled backward and blood began to run down his face and shirt. His blood was full of alcohol so it was running freely.

"You bitch!" he yelled and came towards her. Ella didn't expect him to hit back but he did, and hard. His fist hit her cheek hard and snapped her head around and into the wall behind her. Ella scrambled but she wasn't about the back down. She quickly ripped away from him and grabbed her cell phone. He knocked it away and onto the counter. Her heart raced as she went to grab it but he grabbed her around the neck and shoved her to the floor. Ella cried out as his foot connected with her ribcage. She grabbed the edge of the bar and slowly pulled herself to her feet as he backed away for a moment to catch his breath. She reached for her phone as Bennet caught his breath. He ripped her away from the counter and slammed his fist into her face again. She tasted blood in her mouth as pain exploded around her mouth. He shoved her hard and she stumbled into the counter toward the sink. But right in front of her was her ceramic soap dish that her mother had given her for Christmas. As his hand tangled in her hair she reached out and wrapped her hand around the ceramic dish. He jerked her back by her head and she swung around. The dish connected with his head and he stumbled backward and fell to the ground. She quickly grabbed her phone and dialed 911.

"911 what's your emergency?" the operator asked.

"My name is Ella Dennison I live at 55 Woodland Avenue, and my Ex husband and I got into a fight." She said as slowly and calmly as possible. She leaned down and pressed her fingers to his throat, feeling for a pulse.

"I'm dispatching officers to your location as we speak. Are you both ok? Is anyone injured?" she asked.

"I'm fine, he hit me but I'm fine. He has a steady pulse but he's knocked out, I hit him with my soap dish." Ella said softly. The operator paused for a moment before she continued.

"Ok ma'am, officers will be at your location shortly. Please stay on the phone with me." she said quietly. Ella took a shaky breath as she eased toward the front door. She saw the police car's coming down the residential street, lights on, no sirens. They pulled into her driveway and Ella unlocked the door and opened it.

"They're here." Ella said.

"Ok, ma'am, have a good night." the operator said. The line went dead as the cops approached the door, their hands resting on their sidearms.

"Ma'am I'm Officer Davis, this is Officer Samuels. We're here about the domestic disturbance." He said looking over her face.

"Need EMS to 55 Woodland Avenue." Officer Davis said.

"Ma'am are you feeling any discomfort, headache, nauseas, dizziness." He asked nodding toward her face. She must have some kind of bruising from where he hit her.

"No, no I'm fine. I just need help with him." she pointed. They slowly made their way inside and stopped when they saw Bennet laid out in the floor.

"Need EMS to 55 Woodland Avenue for two." One of the officers said into their radio again.

"He's alive, I'm a doctor, I know." Ella said softly. The officer looked back at her and nodded.

"Ok, ma'am what happened?" he asked.

"Um, he's my ex husband. He lives with me because I offered him a place to stay after he lost his job and home, I mean we were on good terms, but then he started drinking and he's been like this for a few months now. Tonight he grabbed me and tried to force himself on me. I hit him, he hit back. I was scared, so I hit him with the soap dish." She said gesturing to the ceramic dish that was still intact on the floor.

"Ok. Alright." He nodded and jotted down the information as an ambulance pulled up outside. Two paramedics rushed into the house. One turned to her, the other turned to Bennet.

"I'm fine, I'm really fine." She said to the paramedic.

"Dr. Dennison?" the young girl asked. Ella smiled innocently and felt incredibly embarrassed over this whole thing.

"Yeah, hey Katy." Ella said.

"He's fine. He's coming too. We'll need to transfer him to the hospital to make sure there is no concussion, but after that he's all yours." The young male paramedic said as he looked over Bennet.

"Good, I'll ride along. Mrs. Dennison, would you be interested in pressing charges?" he asked turning to her. She looked down at the man and she felt truly sorry for him.

"How long will he be in jail?" she asked.

"Well ma'am that depends on how high the judge sets his bail. If he's able to afford it he'll be released until his hearing." The officer said. Ella swallowed the lump in her throat and she nodded.

"Ok, press charges." Yeah, she nodded she needed this, she needed to be free of Bennet.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you all for the favorites and reviewing, you guys are awesome and i'm glad you like it so far. I take stories slow, so just stick with me guys!**

**Chapter 2**

Ella eased down at her parent's table and winced as she agitated her ribs. Her mother smiled sweetly as her father brought over pepper spray.

"You take this and put it on your key chain." He said.

"Daddy, it really isn't that serious." Ella said shaking her head.

"Yes it is." Her mom said leaning forward and taking her hands.

"Mom." Ella said slowly.

"Ella I'm serious. You need to get away from him. Come live here with us. We have the guest bedroom, you sister lives just a few minutes away, it would be great." She smiled. Ella gently pulled her hands back and chuckled.

"No mom, I'm not moving back in with you guys." She said shaking her head.

"Then what are you going to do baby?" her mother asked her eyes widening slightly.

"I'm going to ask the head of my department about a good place to transfer. She's been just about everywhere. So she'll know." Ella said nodding.

"But Ella, you've lived in Vernon your whole life." Her mom said looking rather dejected. Ella reached out and took her hands.

"No mom, I lived in Tuscaloosa when I was in Med School." She smiled.

"But you've always been in Alabama Ella." Her mother said. Her father kissed her forehead and she smiled. She loved her parent's, but she didn't want to be here anymore.

* * *

"Damn Ella, what happened to you?" Cathy asked as she walked into her office. Cathy was usually all smiles and she worked extremely well with others. She was smart and very good at her job, which was why she'd been to so many different hospitals. People loved her and she loved to travel.

"I'm surprised Katy didn't tell you." Ella smiled as she sat down.

"Eh, Katy and I don't speak much, she rarely has issues with anyone, so she is rarely here in the office." Cathy smiled.

"Ah, well last night Bennet and I got into it. It's done now, he's in jail. But I need to get out of here Cathy. And I thought you might have some suggestions." Ella said shrugging. Cathy smiled innocently and nodded.

"Sorry about that Ella. Um, let me make some calls and I'll get back to you by tomorrow." She said. Ella nodded and stood.

"Thanks a bunch Cathy." She said shaking her hand.

* * *

Ella was packing her house, little by little, even if she didn't get a job somewhere else, she was going to move. She was done here, she couldn't deal with being in the same place as Bennet anymore. She wasn't going to admit that she was scared of him, or maybe even a little terrified of what he might do when he did get out of jail. She wrapped her dishes slowly in newspaper and slipped them into a box. Her phone buzzed loudly in her pocket and she slid it out.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Ella, it's Cathy. I called a bunch of different places, but I finally found somewhere with a great opening." She said. Ella smiled broadly.

"Where?" she asked.

"Chicago Mercy Medical Center." She said. Ella froze, Chicago was very far away from home.

"Um…as in Chicago, Illinois?" she asked.

"Yes, they have an opening for an Emergency Room Doctor. I gave you an excellent reference and I sent them your resume. They are all ready to hire you, you'd be in a cushy seat, right under the head physician. They are doing a rehire of most of their workers. They've had some issues with bedside manner recently so they fired a lot. If you accept then you'd be their first hire, which means you'd have seniority." She said. Ella couldn't help but smile, that would be really nice. She sighed and nodded, it was a great job, and she would never get this opportunity again.

"I'll take it." she smiled.

"Great, I'll text you their number and you can give them a call. They need someone ASAP so the quicker you can get packed and get going, the better." Cathy said.

"Cathy I can't thank you enough." Ella said.

"Just do me proud up there girl." She said.

"Thanks Cath." She smiled.

"Of course Ella." She said. She hung up and Ella went back to packing, two seconds passed before she screamed with joy and clapped her hands.

* * *

"Ok so this is it, I hope you enjoy, rent is due the 1st of every month." The man said as Ella stepped into her new apartment.

"It's nice." She said nodding as she looked around, the windows where small and placed in each corner, not great, but nice.

"Good. Nice to meet you again, and if you need help just call down." he said. Ella nodded and he walked back out, leaving her door open. She sat down the two huge suitcases in her hands and she walked to the window. She looked down at the busy street below and took a shaky breath. She wasn't used to big busy cities, or top floor apartments, but it would have to do until her house back home sold and she could buy a new place. Pounding feet brought her head around quickly as two small children ran into her apartment, a boy and a girl, the boy chasing the girl around her kitchen counter. They were laughing wildly and Ella found herself laughing as well. A frantic woman appeared at her door, her hair was a mess, one eye of makeup was done, and she was wearing a pretty blouse with sweatpants. It appeared that she was half dressed. Ella couldn't help but smile.

"Mary! Peter! Get back to the apartment and please finish your breakfast." She said pointing. She looked up at Ella and forced a smile.

"I am so sorry." She said.

"Oh no, no it's fine." Ella said waving her hands. The kids stopped and looked up, just now noticing the woman standing before them. Their mom's phone went off from where it was in her hand and she pressed it to her ear.

"Sally, thank god where are you?" she said.

"You're sick? What do you mean you're sick? Sally I have a meeting in twenty minutes. What am I supposed to do with the children?" She said. Ella pursed her lips and stepped forward. She didn't have work for a few days, she could do her new neighbor a favor.

"Ma'am, I know you don't know me very well, but I can watch them for you. I promise I'm not a murderer or crazy." She laughed weirdly. She hadn't meant that to sound that way, but it had just come out. She looked up and slowly slid her phone back in her pocket.

"Um…I'm sorry, I just." She said slowly.

"I know it's weird, but I just moved in, here look at this." Ella pulled out her ID for the hospital.

"I'm a doctor. I'm just trying to help you out." Ella said with a smile. The woman smiled and stretched out her hand.

"I'm Maggie." She said. Ella shook her hand and smiled.

"Come on over." Maggie said.

**A/N: I am from Alabama, so that is why I made her a Southerner. Hope yall enjoyed!**


	3. Chapter 3

I hope yall enjoy this chapter, thank you all for continuing to read and support me.

**Chapter 3**

An hour later Ella found herself sitting in between Mary and Peter, Ella had one arm around each child as they laid back on the couch and watched the TV. She'd learned that Peter was 10 and Mary was 8. They attended Piedmont Elementary School and they loved to color. Favorite colors were green and pink, favorite foods were pizza and Mac and Cheese. They were both pretty great kids.

"Have you ever given someone stitches?" Peter asked looking up at her.

"Yes I have." Ella said smiling.

"I had stitches once. Mary hit me in the head with a baseball." He said glaring at his sister. She glared back and stuck her tongue out.

"I did not hit you, you just didn't catch it." Mary said. Ella laughed and leaned her head back as the two glared at each other. She was starting to really enjoy her decision to move to Chicago.

* * *

"So this is your office." The man said opening the door. Ella froze and looked into the fairly large office that was just around the corner from the ER. She stuttered as she looked at the huge window the covered the back wall, and the fact that it had its own bathroom.

"My office?" she finally managed.

"Oh yes. When I'm not here you'll be in charge. Cathy gave you an excellent reference and said you would be perfect for this." he said smiling. Ella looked up at him and nodded slowly.

"Ok, um…yeah. Great." She smiled.

"Well just get settled in, I'll have a nurse bring over your IDs and give you a tour." He said nodding.

"It was great to meet you Dr. Nicholson." She said.

"You to Dr. Dennison." He smiled and shook her hand again before he turned and left. Ella walked in and sat her purse down on the desk. She eased around slowly and sat down in the large spinning chair. Her phone rang and she froze and stared at it for a minute before she lifted it to her ear.

"Hello?" she asked slowly.

"Dr. Dennison?" the voice asked.

"Oh um…yeah, sorry." She said.

"It's fine. My name is Patrice and I'm yours and Dr. Nicolson's assistant. I just wanted to introduce myself." She said. Ella froze again. Assistant, she'd never in her life had an assistant. Oh crap, she didn't know what to do.

"Oh, ok, nice to talk to you Patrice." She said.

"You as well, but also you have a call on line 3." She said.

"Oh, ok thanks." Ella said. Now this was something she knew how to do, work a multi line phone. She hung up and lifted it back, pressing the flashing red button that read line 3.

"This is Dr. Dennison." She said. She smiled, she could get used to that.

"Ella! It's Cathy!" she said loudly.

"Cathy! Hey, it's so good to hear from you." She said.

"Well I just wanted to call and see how you were settling." She said.

"You never mentioned I'd have an office, and an assistant." Ella hissed.

"Yeah, sorry I left that bit out. But trust me Ella, you're ready for this. You're one of the smartest women I know. This is your calling, who knows, maybe your next stop is Head Physician. The sky is the limit." She said. Ella smiled and nodded as a knock brought her head up. A very very handsome male nurse was standing at her door. He had short brown hair and caramel brown eyes. He was tall and well built.

"Um…Cathy, I have to run, I'll talk to you soon. Give all the girl's my love." She said.

"Ok, do us proud Ella!" she called. Ella smiled and hung up as she stood.

"Dr. Dennison?" the man asked. Ella nodded and stuck out her hand.

"Ella." She said.

"Jake." He said taking her hand and shaking it.

"I'm here to give you your tour, and these." He said with a smile as he lifted up the IDs.

"This one just has your name and such on it, this is your access card, this is your key to your office, and this is the code to the medical closet." He said handing them over. Ella took them and nodded.

"Alright, let's go." she said. He nodded and turned as Ella pulled the door to her office closed.

* * *

"ELLA!" Mary called as she walked into the building that night.

"Hey there Mare." Ella smiled and watched as the child ran past her and toward the stairs.

"Hey, don't go down those stairs." Ella said pointing. Mary stopped and turned back toward her.

"Ok EL! Sorry." Mary said. She turned and ran back into their apartment where the door was wide open. Ella approached the door and knocked on the open frame.

"Maggie, I'm home." Ella called. Maggie came out of the kitchen where she was cooking dinner.

"Hey El, how'd your first day go?" Maggie asked.

"Great, I kind of have an office and an assistant." Ella said with a chuckle. Maggie's eyes widened and she smiled.

"Wow, you go girl." Maggie smiled. Ella nodded and leaned against the door frame.

"Hey, I made plenty of dinner, why don't you sit down and eat with us." She motioned for her to come sit down. Ella paused briefly and then smiled.

"Ok, yeah." She nodded.

* * *

The next months went by fast, a lot faster than she'd expected. She's been racing around the hospital so much she'd rarely had time to hang out with anyone else besides Maggie and the kids. She felt like the husband in that little family. Always having dinner with them, watching the kids on her days off. Playing with them when she had time. She was quite a busy girl. So when she made the decision to dress up and go get a few drinks she figured she deserved it. Maggie stood in front of her as she tried on a few dresses.

"Oh, yes, that's the one." Maggie said as she ran her eyes over the short, tight fitting, black, strapless, heart shaped dress.

"You sure?" Ella asked doing a small spin.

"Yes, I'm positive." She smiled and grabbed a pair of black pumps out of Ella's closet and passed them to her.

"Bring us home a man." She said.

"Us?" Ella asked with a smirk.

"Yes us, I can't go out, I haven't had sex in four years, so I'm forced to live vicariously through you." She said with a laugh. Ella chuckled and nodded.

"I'll try Maggie." She said as she slid on the pumps and grabbed her clutch.

* * *

Ella entered the small bar and went straight up to the counter. She'd walked over, it was pretty close to her house so it would be fine if she had a good number of drinks. She was off tomorrow anyway.

"What'll it be?" he asked.

"I'll take a jack and coke please." She said. He nodded and turned away as she got comfortable.

"Not much of ladies drink if you ask me." a voice next to her said.

"Well who asked you?" Ella asked turning toward the voice. It was Jake, the nurse from her hospital. She laughed as her drink was sat down in front of her.

"Sorry." She winced and tried another smile. He laughed and nodded.

"I understand. So what brings the ever reclusive Dr. Dennison out on a Saturday night?" he asked. Ella took a long drink of the Jack and Coke and smirked.

"Don't you think I deserve it? I've done nothing but work my tail off of four months now." She smiled.

"Of course you deserve it. You're one of the hardest working doctors I've ever met." He said.

"Well thank you." She said taking another long drink.

* * *

A few more drinks in and Ella was feeling tipsy.

"So how's the city life treating you?" Jake asked. Ella smiled and nodded.

"I've got a great neighbor. My apartment is nice, you know, all that stuff." She said.

"You haven't seen the city?" he asked. Ella shrugged and shook her head.

"Not really." She smiled.

"That's a shame. Chicago is a great place." A voice from behind her said. She spun on her stool slightly and wobbled. A strong, rough hand caught her arm and kept her from toppling off her stool and falling face first onto the floor.

"Whoa." The voice said with a deep chuckle. Ella looked up and found herself smiling. Oh he was gorgeous. Ella ran her eyes over his face, and smiled, his bright blue eyes shined back at her, his head was topped with short black hair, with small spots of gray. He was wearing a tight black shirt that showed off a very muscled chest and abdomen. Jake was handsome, but this guy was oh so pretty.  
"Thank you." Ella smiled feeling slightly embarrassed.

"No problem." He smiled and stuck out his hand.

"Kelly." He said. Ella slipped her hand into his larger one. Oh she liked this feeling. That was nice.

"Ella." She said.

"It was nice to meet you Ella. Maybe I'll take you to see Chicago sometime." He said turning to pick up his drink and walking away. He was smooth, Ella was willing to bet he'd worked his way through half Chicago. Not her type, she didn't date players, she didn't mess with players. She sighed, even if they were so absolutely sexy.


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm glad yall liked that chapter, I hope you all enjoy this one, thanks for reading and reviewing!**

**Chapter 4**

Ella stumbled in the door later that night and kicked off her shoes. Jake was a good guy, funny, smart, and good looking, but not what she was looking for. Maybe he could have been if she hadn't run into the extremely good looking Kelly. She tossed her clutch on the bar and jumped into her bed. God she was exhausted.

* * *

The first half of the day before her weekend off went smoothly. No major injuries, a few sickly people, but that was it, other than that it was all good. Until the doors at the ambulance entrance slid open and an ambulance marked 61 backed in. Dr. Nicolson was there first, gathering all the information he could on the patient before they wheeled the gurney into an open bay.

"Dennison, assist." He nodded. Ella jumped into action, snapping on her gloves and going into the bay.

"Male age 40, car accident, multiple contusions, possible internal." He rattled off. Ella stepped in and got to work.

* * *

Ella's sleep was plagued with dreams that night, she tossed and turned, dreams about Bennet, hitting her, about him coming to find her, searching for her and eventually discovering where she'd gone. Ella's eyes opened slightly when she smelled smoke. A second later the smoke alarm blared loudly. She jerked up right in the bed and smoke was engulfing her room, seeping in from under the doorway. She jumped up and quickly ran to the door, forgetting everything she'd ever learned she grabbed the handle. It was warm on her hand, she opened the door and peered out into the smoke covered hallway. Ella coughed as her heart raced, she lifted her arm and covered her nose and mouth. She looked to her left and fire was there, spreading up the stairs and toward the two rooms on the top floor, hers and Maggie's. Ella ran to the door and banged loudly, her bare feet growing warm on the ground. No one answered. She banged louder and finally it cracked open. Peter peeked out.

"Peter, where is your mom?" she asked quickly.

"Mary is sick, Momma went to the store five minutes ago to get some Tylenol." He whispered. Ella nodded quickly and looked behind her as fire licked up the staircase. Ok, ok, she needed to do something.

"Peter, go inside, get your sister up. I'll be right back." she said. She rushed into her room and grabbed her cell phone. She didn't have a clue if someone had already called 911 but she was sure they probably had. She turned to go back into the kids rooms as a loud knock on her window caught her attention. She looked up and a man on a ladder was sitting there waving her. She rushed toward the window and threw it open.

"Ok ma'am, take my hand." He said.

"No, no there's kids. I'll get them!" Ella yelled as the sound of a raging fire overwhelmed her ears. She rushed back into the hallway the fire was there, at her back as she ran toward their room. It was on the backside of the building, no windows, just their luck.

"Peter!" Ella called when she ran in. A coughing fit took over her body, she could barely see as smoke took over the room.

"Momma?" peter called.

"No Peter, it's Ella." She said wrapping her arms around him.

"Where is Mary?" she asked quickly.

"She can't get up." he coughed. Ella panicked.

"Ok, ok come on." She said. She grabbed Peter and ran into the hallway, the fire was in her apartment, engulfing the kitchen and table. She shielded Peter as she ran toward the window where the firefighter was waiting.

"Here, take him!" Ella yelled and heaved Peter up and into his waiting arms. Ella turned back toward the room.

"Ma'am wait!" he yelled. She barely heard him as she ran into the burning hallway. She shielded her face with her arm as fire jumped up at her, attacking her, burning her arm. She screamed but rushed past it into Maggie's apartment.

"Mary!" she coughed and her throat cried out in pain as she could barely breathe. She found Mary's room and the small child was in the floor coughing and trying to breathe.

"Hey Mary, come on I got you." Ella swooped down and lifted her up.

"Chicago Fire Department is anyone up here!" she heard voices yelling but as the smoke covered her lungs she became light headed. The fire was there now, in the apartment, on the roof burning and crackling. Ella opened her mouth to yell but the smoke was there, not allowing it.

"CFD anyone up here." the voice yelled again. Ella moved toward the voice, it sounded so far away. She wobbled under Mary's weight, even though she was very small. The roof above her head cracked loudly, and Ella rushed forward as a beam fell, she jumped out of the way, shielding Mary with her body. The beam slammed into her leg and she fell to the ground. She moaned in pain as her leg ached, she tried to jerk out of the way, but something was on her. She heard footsteps as she tucked Mary under her body to prevent the falling embers from hitting her.

"Got one here!" a voice above her yelled. Ella tried to pry her eyes open but the smoke was in them as well.

"Take her first!" Ella squeaked as she moved Mary toward the person. She felt the child be removed from her arms.

"Got two! Casey take the kid!" she heard a voice call. Ella was racked by coughing again, gagging and choking on the smoke.

"Hold on ma'am, I've got you." The voice said. But that was the last thing she heard because she was out.

* * *

Lt. Kelly Severide hurried room to room, checking for any other people.

"Floor 9 clear. Going up to last floor." he radioed out. He rushed up the stairs, his fellow Lt. Matthew Casey behind him as they got to the last floor. All the smoke was here and the fire was covering the top level.

"Chicago Fire Department is anyone up here!" Casey yelled from behind him. They went into the first room, their eyes scanned the room, into the bedroom, no one. They went back into the hallway and rushed into the next room.

"CFD anyone up here." Matt yelled again. In the next moment the roof cracked a beam fell in the side room. Kelly rushed into the room and spotted a woman lying on the ground, the beam resting on her leg, it was on fire, but none was on her yet.

"Got one here!" he yelled over his shoulder to Matt.

"Take her first!" the woman barely whispered, but Kelly heard her. She moved a little and pushed a young girl out from under her. Kelly leaned down and quickly pulled the small girl up.

"Got two! Casey take the kid!" he said handing her over as Matt ran into the room. Matt took her and waited as the woman started coughing and gagging.

"Hold on ma'am, I've got you." Kelly grabbed the end of the beam that wasn't on fire, he lifted with all his might. His shoulder screamed out and he winced as he shoved it away. He leaned down and lifted her into his arms. She was out cold, her head lolled back and he just prayed that was she still alive. He followed Matt as they hurried to the stairs. And when he hit the first stair he bounced and he was incredibly relieved when the woman's hand grabbed his jacket and held on. She was still alive. They rushed down the stairs and Kelly found a moment to look down and he was a little taken back. She was gorgeous, even covered in black smudges. She had long black hair that ran down over his arm, it had to be at least lower back length, and it carried soft large waves. She had pretty tan skin, not too tan and not too light, the perfect color. She was small, not very short, but a somewhat short 5'4, she was slender in the middle and well endowed at both ends. His eyes ran over her face, full pouty lips, high cheek bones. He was so focused on her he barely noticed when they exited the building. He could swear he recognized her from somewhere. A bawling mother ran toward Casey.

"Oh thank god! My baby! Mary!" she cried and showered her in kisses and Casey passed her to Gabriela. The woman in Kelly's arms jerked and she sucked in the fresh air, coughing and gagging like before.

"Hey it's ok." Kelly said soothing her. Her eyes shot up to his and he paused briefly, they were a wonderful bright shade of green, almost glowing in the night sky. He hurried over to Shay where she waited with the gurney. He slid her down onto it and Shay looked up at him as he lingered briefly.

"We'll take care of her." Shay smiled at him.

"Good job Severide." Chief Boden patted him on the back as he slowly moved away from the woman.

"Thank you, thank you both for saving my little girl and Ella." The frantic mother said coming up to him and Casey.

"Ella?" he asked.

"That's her name, Ella." She nodded toward the ambulance where Dawson and Shay were loading them up.

"Oh, you're um…welcome." Kelly said nodding. She nodded and rushed away as Herrmann approached them.

"That woman, in the ambulance is the one who gave me the little boy. She ran back in when I turned away to hand him off." Herrmann said nodding.

"She was going after the girl." Casey said. Kelly smirked, brave too. He might have to check up on that one.

* * *

Ella blinked open her eyes, she immediately recognized the smell. She was in the hospital. She remembered the fire, but she didn't remember how she'd gotten out. She coughed slightly and breathed in the oxygen from where it was over her mouth. Her arm and leg were hurting badly, but not so bad that she couldn't stand it. A face came into her vision.

"I'm glad you're awake Dr. Dennison. How are you feeling?" the woman she recognized as one of the night nurses asked as she gently removed the oxygen mask. Ella took a ragged painful breath before she nodded.

"I'm good." She said.

"Do you know where you are and why you're here?" the nurse asked.

"Mercy Medical and um…there was a fire." She said nodding. The nurse nodded and checked over her vitals.

"Good. We're going to sit you up slowly." she said. She pressed the button on the bed and lifted her up. Ella looked down, her forearm had a bandage over it, and her legs where covered so she wasn't sure.

"You didn't suffer any major injuries. Second degree burns on your arm there, it will hurt, but it will heal fine. You're leg isn't broken thankfully, but there is a very large bruise that will probably hurt for a little while. You're great for what you went through tonight, and we can release you first thing in the morning." She said nodding. Ella nodded as well and smiled, she was thankful her somewhat crazy actions had not gotten her killed. The nurse left and Ella laid her head back and relaxed for a few moments before she heard footsteps. She looked up and Maggie was there, tears in her eyes.

"Oh Ella, Peter told me what you did, thank you Ella, thank you so so much." Maggie said coming in. She wrapped her arms around Ella and squeezed her gently.

"I had to do it Maggie." Ella smiled.

"No you didn't. You could have crawled out the window with that man and left the kids, but you went back for them and that makes you a hero Ella." She said.

"No no, I'm not a hero Maggie, the men and women who rescued us tonight are heroes." Ella said. Maggie nodded enthusiastically.

"Of course. By the way, the landlord had excellent insurance and they are going to pay everyone who lived in the building the cost of what they had in their apartment and six months' rent on new places." Maggie said. Ella nodded and smiled.

"That is great. Luckily all I had were my clothes and a few things from my old house. I can rebuild my wardrobe." Ella said. Maggie nodded, gave her another hug and she left. Ella smiled, she was glad the kids were ok. They were pretty great kids.


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm so happy that yall are enjoying this story! Thanks for reading and reviewing!**

**Chapter 5**

A few days later Ella had settled in a new apartment, this time on the bottom floor. Maggie had moved in next to her so that she could be around the kids whenever she wanted to be. It was also a little bit nicer than the last. Chicago Mercy had given her a few extra days off including her weekend considering she almost died in a fire. She smirked to herself as she licked her finger free of cake icing and finished the edges. She'd made three of her grandmother's famous chocolate cakes and she was finishing up the last one. She placed it in a container and slid it into the bag with the other three.

"Here Ella, give this to them!" Mary said handing her a large piece of paper. Ella looked down at it and smiled. It was a drawing, of a burning building and at the bottom was a picture of a bunch of firefighters and two paramedics. Scrolled across the top in little kid handwriting were the words "Thank you for saving our lives. You're my hero." Ella read.

"Who should I give it to?" Ella asked.

"All of them. Tell them to hang it up in the firehouse." Mary smiled. Ella nodded and slid the picture down into the bag with the cakes.

"Ok, now go to school." Ella said as she walked out the door.

* * *

Ella pulled up outside the fire station and slipped out of her car. She grabbed the bag and walked up toward the front where there were several men milling around , cleaning, reading, eating, refueling.

"Can I help you ma'am?" One said as he approached her. Ella smiled and stuck out her hand.

"Ella Dennison. Is there a way that I can talk to the person in charge?" she smiled.

"Peter Mills and uh yeah, just let me grab the chief." He said. He hurried off and Ella was left standing there, the many eyes of the firefighters finding their way over to her. A tall dark skinned man came out of the side office and smiled at her.

"Chief Wallace Boden." He said extending his hand. Ella took it and smiled.

"Ella Dennison." She said.

"I just want to say thank you to you and your firefighters for what you did for me and everyone else in the apartment building. You guys really saved my skin, so thanks." She smiled.

"It's our job ma'am." The chief said.

"Maybe, but still. Anyway, I made these for you guys and girls. There are four in there, so it should be plenty to go around, and this is from the little girl that was with me. Her name is Mary." Ella said lifting the picture.

"That was very sweet of you. We'll hang this up on our wall." The chief said as she sat down the cakes and picture.

"What kind of cake is it?" one of the men asked. Ella looked up and wanted to smile, he was very good looking. He had black short hair, with little specks of gray here and there, his eyes were a gorgeous shade of blue, he was tall, well built, and he had a very adorable smile. She recognized him, from somewhere. She briefly thought back to that night, she remembered her first breath of non smoke filled air, and when she looked up he was there, the man in front of her now. Ella smiled back and took the cakes out one by one.

"Chocolate, my grandma's recipe, by the way, you're the one who carried me out right?" Ella said. He smirked again and nodded as some of the other firefighters dispersed.

"Ella Dennison." She said extending her hand.

"Kelly Severide." He said taking it. His hand was rough and much larger than hers. Ella froze, and her face slowly turned red, she remembered him. He was the guy that caught her before she fell off her chair at the bar.

"You also made sure I didn't fall face first and show everyone my underwear a few nights back." she felt her face redden, why did she say that, why oh why? His eyebrows rose slightly before he nodded.

"OH, now I remember you. You're the one who hasn't seen Chicago." He smirked. Ella was sure her face was beet red by now. He was gorgeous and he was a firefighter, which upped his hot level by at least 50 points.

"Who's the other one?" Ella asked. He raised an eyebrow and frowned.

"Other one?" he asked.

"The man that was with you, Casey I think his name was?" she said.

"OH, yeah, Casey!" he called over his shoulder. Another very cute man popped his head up from where he stood and came walking over. He had pretty blondish hair, cut short also, and his eyes were also a pretty shade of blue.

"Matthew Casey." He said extending his hand. Ella took it and smiled.

"Good to meet you. Mary is very grateful." Ella said. He smiled and nodded.

"I'm glad we could help." He said. Two women walked toward them, one was a very pretty dark skinned woman with pretty brown hair, the other was her opposite, light skin, blonde hair, but still very pretty.

"Gabriela Dawson." The brunette said.

"Leslie Shay." The blonde said.

"Nice to meet you." Ella said.

"How's the arm and leg?" Leslie asked.

"It's good. Feeling much better. Thank you both as well for what you did." She said. They nodded also and smiled.

"Well, I better get going. Nice to meet you all." Ella said. They all waved their byes and Ella turned and left.

Kelly watched her walk off, he couldn't help but let his eyes run over her hips as they swayed back and forth as she walked away.

"Stop staring." Dawson said popping his arm.

"She's staring too." Kelly said pointing to Shay who was also watching the girl walk away.

"I can't help it." Shay said shrugging, "Anyone else catch the twang?" Shay asked. Kelly smirked, he'd caught it, it was a southern accent if he wasn't mistaken, only made her cuter in his opinion.

"However I don't think she goes my way." Shay smirked. Kelly pursed his lips and watched as she got to her car and turned toward them, she gave a pretty big smile and waved at them again. Kelly found his hand going up involuntarily and waving back.

"Hey Severide, how about you just go ask the girl to dinner." Casey said.

"I swear, one of us needs to go after her." Shay smiled and nudged him. Kelly sighed and nodded.

"Fine." He said. He took off across the lot as she slid into her car.

"Hey! Ella!" he called before she got in. She looked back up at him and smiled.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"You want to grab some dinner tonight? I know a great place." He said. Ella smiled and leaned against her door frame.

"How about a beer instead." She said. He smirked, his kind of woman.

"Sounds great. I'll meet you at Charley's at 8." He said.

"Sounds like a plan." She smiled. He nodded and backed away as she slid into her car and drove away.

* * *

Ella didn't have the slightest clue where Charley's was, but she'd asked Maggie and she'd been so kind as to drive her over and show her before her date that night. Was it even a date? She didn't think so, couldn't be. He hadn't asked if she would like to go on a date, he'd just asked her to dinner, does that count as a date? She shook her head and tightened her grip on her steering wheel as she pulled into the parking lot. She checked her phone, 8:06, not to early, not too late. She got out of her car and looked up through the window. He was just walking in, he was wearing a tight fitting gray shirt, dark blue jeans, and a leather jacket. Ella licked her lips, at the way the gray shirt pulled tight across his broad chest, the leather riding his shoulders and accenting his every move. She loved it all.

Kelly sat down in a booth, he always found those were more private, and some girls really didn't have a problem making out in one. He looked up as the door opened and Ella stepped through. He had to sit back to take her all in. Her wavy black hair was flowing down her back and some over her shoulders, she was wearing a pair of tight light blue jeans, a dark purple low cut shirt, and a pair of black boots. She was beautiful. He lifted his hand and waved her over. She smiled and made her way over, sliding into the booth smoothly she smiled.

"Hey there." he smiled.

"Hello hello." She said. Ella looked up at the waitress came over and smiled down at Kelly. The smile wasn't a smile you give someone you don't know. He knew her and she knew him, but this wasn't a date, he wasn't her boyfriend and she had no right to pry. Her momma always told her to keep her nose out of other people's business.

"Hey Kel." The waitress said. He looked up at her and smirked.

"Hey Nina." he said.

"What can I get you guys?" she asked.

"I'll take the usual." He said, then he looked toward Ella.

"Bud Light." She said nodding. The waitress nodded and turned on her heel, walking off.

"So Ella? Where you from?" he asked.

"Vernon, Alabama." She smirked.

"Knew I recognized that accent?" he said.

"You know someone from Alabama?" she asked.

"Eh, Shay used to date this girl from Alabama." He said. Ella nodded as the waitress sat down their drinks. Ella lifted her beer to her lips and took a swig.

"So a firefighter huh?" she asked with a smile. Kelly nodded as he sipped his beer.

"Yeah, squad 3." He said.

"Squad, what's that mean?" she asked. He raised an eyebrow but then quickly remembered she was not from around here.

"Rescue squad. We uh specialize in victim removal and things like that. Rescuing people." He said nodding.

"Yeah I saw all the trucks in there when I came by. There's like four of them." she said drinking some more beer.

"Yeah, Engine 51, Truck 81, Squad 3, and Ambulance 61. Chief's truck is out back, Battalion 25." He said.

"We have one." Ella said holding up one finger.

"One truck?" he asked with a smile. Ella laughed and nodded.

"Just one. But it does its job. It had a hose and all that good stuff." Ella said. Kelly chuckled and leaned forward slightly.

"So, small town?" he asked.

"So small. We have one restaurant that's been there 30 years, and my grandparent's own It. Most of our firefighters are volunteers and we have one big school that houses, elementary, middle, and high school." she smiled.

"What brought you to Chicago?" he asked. Ella swallowed quickly and seemed to freeze up before she brought her fake smile out and sipped her beer again.

"Better job, much better job." She said.

"What do you do?" he asked.

"I'm a doctor." She said.

"A doctor?" he asked raising his eyebrows.

"Yep, surprised?" she asked smiling.

"Not really surprised, more wondering how someone as pretty as you can be a doctor." He said. Ella leaned back and laughed lightly. His pick up lines where something else.

"You've never had a pretty doctor?" she asked.

"No, most of my doctors are old and men." He said. Ella laughed again and finished her beer.

"Where are you working?" he asked.

"Chicago Mercy Medical Center." She said. The waitress sat down two more beers, a little roughly, but Ella barely noticed.

"Oh, that's not far from where we are. It's actually where we bring most of our victims, it's kind of right in the center of it all." He said.

"What floor are you on?" he asked.

"Emergency Room." she said.

"Fast paced." He said back.

"I like it fast paced. I don't much like being bored. I did half my residency on the third floor at our local hospital and I hated it. Once you do rounds there is nothing else to do. So you either sit down, have a snack, or gossip. After a few months I requested a transfer and they stuck me in the ER. There's always something going on in the ER, no time to sit down." she said taking a sip of her beer. Kelly smiled and nodded.

"I can relate." He said.

"Really? Is that why you decided to fight fires?" she asked.

"I like the fast pace of a fire department, we get some down time, but when that siren goes off it's jump up and go, it's a lot of running and a lot of fun." He said.

"A lot of testosterone." She smirked. Kelly laughed, he couldn't help himself.

"You think firemen are egotistical?" he asked leaning forward more.

"Well don't get me wrong, you guys are great, heroic, good looking, in good shape, but some of you have a little complex. A big head if you will." She said finishing off her second beer. She needed to slow down, getting drunk on the second meet was not a good impression especially since she'd been fall down drunk on their first meet. Kelly signaled the waitress and she came over.

"Another?" she asked.

"Um no, I'm good." She said nodding.

"Severide?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'll have another." He said.

"Careful, wouldn't want to drive drunk." Ella said.

"I walked. I live right around the corner." He said.

"So back to my big head." He said. Ella laughed and shook her head.

"No, I didn't say you had a big head, it's actually a nice normal shape." She chuckled. He laughed and nodded.

"I'm glad you like it." he said.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

A few hours later Ella watched as Kelly finished off his last beer. He'd consumed a six pack and they were both chatting back and forth.

"Favorite color?" he asked.

"Purple. Yours?" she asked.

"Red." He smirked. Ella chuckled.

"Red, as in fire engine red?" she asked. Kelly laughed and nodded.

"Ok, favorite food?" she asked.

"I love a nice big steak, you?" he pointed.

"I'd have to agree with you. I love steak. My Papaw can grill up a mean one." She said. Kelly nodded as Ella leaned back and sighed. The bar was closing down and Ella checked her watch.

"Oh crap, it's um…12:45." She laughed. Kelly chuckled and nodded.

"I guess time flies when you're having fun." He said.

"I guess so. I think we better go though, the waitress is starting to glare and I feel like she might punch us in the face if we stay any longer." Ella said jerking her head at her. Kelly laughed and nodded. He slid out of the booth and offered her his hand. She took it and pulled herself up.

"Thanks." She said.

"I'll walk you out." He said. Ella nodded and led the way as they left the bar. She walked around to her car and Kelly followed. She unlocked the door and turned to him.

"Well thanks for the beers and um…I had fun." She said. Kelly nodded and reached down, he opened the door for her and smiled.

"I had fun too." He said leaning forward. Ella panicked, she backed up before he got to close and she dropped down into the car.

"See you later Kelly." She smiled. He smirked, nodded, and closed her door for her. She quickly cranked her car and pulled out of the parking lot. What the hell was wrong with her? He'd tried to kiss her and she'd rejected it, completely rejected it.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid." She said slapping the steering wheel.

* * *

The next day Kelly walked into the fire house with a confused expression on his face. He still hadn't been able to figure out why she'd dropped into the car and left so quickly after he'd leaned in. He wasn't used to that kind of treatment from women. Usually they leaned in too and they kissed, but not this one. He pursed his lips as Shay approached him.

"Hey there, noticed you didn't get home till late last night." she smirked and wiggled her eyebrows. Casey chuckled as he wiped a smudge off the truck.

"Have a good date with Ella?" He asked.

"Um…yeah, she's from Alabama by the way." He said to Shay. Shay chuckled and nodded.

"Knew I recognized that accent. So you two went to Charley's?" Shay asked.

"Doesn't Nina work there?" Casey called over his shoulder.

"That she does. I forgot about that before I went." He said.

"Did she say anything?" Shay asked.

"She said hey and she called my Kel." He smirked.

"Of course she did. You know why? Because calling you Kel showed Ella that she knew you well enough to call you by a nick name. Women." Shay said rolling her eyes. Kelly chuckled and nodded.

"So, do I see I second date in your future?" Shay asked. Kelly shrugged and the confused look came back.

"What happened?" Shay whispered. She took his arm and moved him away from the group.

"She kind of rejected me." he said shrugging. Shay stepped back and smiled.

"Maybe she does play for my team." She said. Kelly gave her a sour look.

"I'm just kidding, tell me what happened." She said putting her hands on her hips.

"We got there at 8 and we had a few beers, we talked and talked, and when we looked at our watches it was 12:45. We kind of lost track of time. I offered to walk her out to the car, and when we got to the car I opened her door for her and kind of leaned toward her and she dropped down into her car so fast I barely saw it." he said. Shay pursed her lips and nodded.

"She didn't give you a number or anything?" she asked.

"Nothing." Kelly said shaking his head.

"She just got out of a bad relationship." Shay nodded knowingly.

"Now how do you know that?" he asked.

"I've seen in a hundred times, with girls who go my way though, mostly because they decide to try lesbianism because of the bad relationship. It's almost like even though they want to try this new thing, they won't because they don't want to get involved again for fear of getting hurt." She said.

"Damn." He said shaking his head.

"Oh well, you tried." Shay smiled.

"She's a doctor by the way." He said with a smirk. Shay's eyebrows shot up.

"Really?" she asked.

"Yeah, works in the ER at Mercy Med." He said. Shay nodded as they walked back to the truck.

"Pretty and smart." Shay smirked.

The siren went off loudly, blaring over the whole fire house.

"Truck 81, Squad 3, Ambulance 61, Battalion 25" the woman called. Kelly rushed out toward the truck and hopped inside as it sped out, sirens blaring, lights flashing. They quickly approached the car that was flipped on its roof in the middle of the road, another car across from it in on the median. Kelly rushed toward the first car that was into the median as Casey raced to the car on its top. A young male was sitting in the front seat, cussing and screaming.

"Hey, man, calm down, we're going to get you out of here." Kelly said. He continued to yell as Kelly grabbed the neck brace and moved to put it on him.

"I don't need that, just get me out of here!" he yelled. Kelly looked over his shoulder at Dawson who nodded.

"Alright, come on." He said. He grabbed the handle and the door opened with a little bit of force. His side of the car wasn't damaged, it was the side that hit the median. The man stepped out and Kelly steadied him.

"That mother fucker ran right into me! He ran that red light!" he screamed and jerked out of Kelly's hold as they pulled the other man free of the car.

"Whoa!" Kelly yelled and grabbed onto his arm. The Guy swung around and Kelly briefly saw it before a hard object slammed into his head.

"Gun he's got a gun!" he heard Mouch yell, but he didn't see it, because he dropped his head into his hands.

"Son of a bitch!" he yelled standing straight back up. His vision swam but he rushed forward and grabbed the guy around the chest and slammed him onto the ground hard. He shoved the gun away and held him down. He felt like he might vomit but he stayed on top of him until a cop got to him and grabbed his wrists, handcuffing him quickly.

"Thanks man." The cops said, "You're good." He patted him. Kelly eased himself off the man, he stumbled slightly and a small body caught him.

"Hey, Severide, look at me." Dawson was saying in his ear. Kelly swung his head around and he could tell by the look on her face it wasn't good.

"I'm fine, I'm ok." He nodded.

"No you need to go to the hospital. That's a nasty cut, and you might have a concussion." She said. Shay was loading the other man onto the ambulance and she looked over, her eyes widened as the Chief and the other guys rushed over.

"Severide, get on the bus, go to the hospital." The Chief said.

"Chief I'm fine. It's all good." He said nodding. Nodding, not a good idea, it made him woozy.

"Willing or forced, your choice." The Chief said. Kelly sighed and Dawson watched him as he climbed into the ambulance.

"Where are we going?" Kelly asked.

"Mercy Med." Dawson said. Kelly closed his eyes briefly.

"Hey Kelly, open those eyes." Shay said patting his leg. His eyes opened wide and he nodded.

"I'm good." He said quietly.


	7. Chapter 7

**I'm glad you guys love Ella and Severide! I enjoy writing them! Enjoy!**

**Chapter 7**

"Dr. Nicolson, Dr. Dennison to the ER please, Dr. Nicolson, Dr. Dennison to the ER." The intercom called loudly. Ella leap out of her chair and hurried out the door. Dr. Nicolson was at the doors as the ambulance backed up. The doors opened and a team of Nurses grabbed the end of the gurney, pulling it out. Ella spotted Shay and Dawson quickly.

"Bay 3 and 4 please!" Dr. Nicolson called over his shoulder. She didn't see two gurneys. She looked up and saw Kelly Slowly climbing out of the back of the ambulance, Shay assisting him. Blood was running slowly down his forehead from a nasty cut. Ella leapt into action.

"I need supplied brought to bay 4 please." She called as she stepped forward. Kelly looked up and smirked.

"Hello again." Ella said nodding to Shay.

"Come on, help him sit up here for me." she said patting the bed. She watched shay as she helped him hop onto the bed.

"Let's take a look." She said lifting the pen light out of her pocket. She clicked it on and gently opened each eye wider, looking at them closely.

"No sign of trauma, but we'll get a CT scan as soon as we get this cut fixed up." she said lifting the gauze pad and alcohol swabs.

"This is going to sting a little." She said. Her heart was pounding as his enchanting blue eyes found hers and he nodded. She wiped at the cut gently, he still winced though. Out of pure helpfulness, she puckered her lips and blew a gentle stream of air across the burning cut.

Kelly found himself smiling and thoroughly enjoying Dr. Dennison taking care of him. But when her lips blew cool air across his burning injury, he found himself fighting back the urge to grab her and kiss her. She laid down the alcohol swabs and lifted the butterfly closures.

"You're lucky this doesn't need stitches. It will heal without much of a scar. What happened?" she asked Shay as she slowly applied the closures.

"Two car accident. One guy blamed the other, he had a gun, he wanted to shoot him, Kelly tried to stop him, and he bashed him in the head with his gun." Shay said gesturing to his head. Ella's eyebrows rose quickly.

"Do things like that happen often?" She asked.

"Some of the neighbor hoods we service are pretty rough, some of us have been attacked, but it's not an everyday thing." Shay smirked.

"Oh, well I'm sorry. People are crazy." She shrugged. He chuckled and nodded.

"That they are." He said. She leaned up on her tip toes to tape a gauze pad over the wound, and her body pressed firmly against his. His eyes sank down her body. Her chest was nearly in his face, her hips in between his thighs, the urge to grab her and kiss her was back. She pulled back and smiled returning to her normal position.

"I've got to go. Take care of him for me Ella." Shay said and patted her friend on the back.

"Of course." Ella smiled as Shay walked out the door.

"Ok, if you'll just lay back and rest for a few I'll order the CT scan and we'll get you out of here." she smiled.

"We'll do Doc." He said. Ella chuckled and walked out of the small curtained area. A few moments later a tall male nurse walked in and began to clean up the bloody gauze and alcohol swabs. He gave him a nod and smile before he left. A short plump woman walked in behind him holding a gown.

"Ok sir, I'll need you to strip down to your underwear and put this on. Make sure you remove all jewelry, rings, necklaces, etcetera." She said passing him the gown.

"Um, I don't think that's necessary." He said slowly as he took the gown.

"Doctor's orders Sir." She said. He nodded as she left and he stood quickly, a little too quickly because his head swam and he had to grab the bed rail for support. He undressed quickly and slipped into the robe. He grumbled as he tied the back up and then slid back into the bed. He pulled the cover up over his legs slightly, a little embarrassed. A knock brought his head up.

"Come in." he called. Ella peeked in and nodded.

"Good, you're dressed." She said stepping inside.

"Yeah, even though this is a ridiculous outfit." He smirked.

"I agree, but it's easier to scan you head in that. So how are you feeling?" she asked coming forward.

"Better than I was when I walked through the doors." He said. Ella smiled and leaned against the bed. He took note that her beautiful black hair was pulled back into a loose pony tail and he could see her bright green eyes clearly.

"About those beers last night." she said crossing her arms.

"Yeah…" he said slowly.

"How about you let me take you out for a steak?" Ella asked with a smile.

"You're going to take me out?" he asked with a smirk. Ella nodded and stood up straight.

"Yep, my friend suggested a great steak place. Downtown Eating." She said with a smile. He nodded and he almost felt his stomach growl.

"That is a really great place. When?" He asked.

"Tomorrow night." she said. He nodded and smiled.

"I can do that." he said.

"Good. I'll meet you at 8." She said.

"8 it is." He said. Ella nodded and turned and walked away.

* * *

Kelly was back in the firehouse a few hours later. He headed into the chief's office, surpassing everyone else to make sure everything was cleared so he could go back to duty. He knocked heavily on the door.

"Come in!" the chief called. Kelly stepped in and nodded to his chief.

"How's the head?" he asked.

"Firing on all cylinders." Kelly smirked.

"Well in most cases I'd send you home for the rest of the week." Chief Boden said. Kelly's stomach dropped slightly, he didn't want to go home.

"But, you're doctor called and told me everything checked out and you were all good to go back to work as soon as possible." He smirked. Kelly looked up and smiled, Ella.

"She did?" he asked.

"Yeah she did. Maybe she was returning the favor for you saving her life, I don't know, but she seems like a smart girl, so take the rest of the day off and I'll see you in the morning." He said.

"What am I supposed to do for the rest of the day Chief?" Kelly smirked. He was used to getting off at night and spending his night out.

"Why don't you call up your doctor friend and take her out?" he said with a smile. Kelly shook his head and opened the door.

"See you in the morning Chief." He called.

* * *

Ella walked down the concrete sidewalk and she slowly reached down, tugging up the strap on the too high heels she wore to match her dress. She ran her hands down the dark blue sundress, smoothing out any wrinkles.

"Alright, let's not mess this up." she said to herself as she pulled the leather jacket tightly around her shoulders and made her way into the restaurant.

"Welcome to Downtown Eating. How many?" she asked.

"Two, my um…date will be here shortly." She said.

"Name?" the woman asked.

"My name or his?" Ella asked. She was starting to feel like she should know this by the way the woman was looking at her.

"I'm here, no worries." Kelly said coming in the door quickly. Ella looked up and secretly thanked God for his perfect timing. Kelly was wearing a dark gray t-shirt with a black sports coat pulled over it. She really loved him in gray, it made his eyes shine with boyish charm.

"Ok, follow me." the hostess said waving them forward. Ella smiled back at Kelly as they followed the hostess to a small table for two seated in a private corner. This was nice, she liked this. Kelly came around and pulled her chair out for her and she gave a sarcastic 'aww' as she sat down. He sat down across from her and the hostess sat down their menus.

"Your waiter will be here shortly." She said. They both nodded to her and then turned to each other.

"Tell me something." He said jerking his head toward her.

"What?" she asked as the waiter approached.

"Good evening, my name is Richard and I'll be your waiter. What can I get you two to drink?" he asked. Kelly looked up at the waiter as he eyed Ella, his fist clenched involuntarily.

"I'll have the house wine please." She said as she looked up at him. He smiled at Ella a little too long before he turned to Kelly.

"And you sir?" he asked.

"Sam Adams." He said nodding. The waiter took it down and left, flashing one more smile at Ella.

"He likes you." Kelly said. Ella put her hand on her chest and opened her mouth wide.

"Ya think?" she asked loudly. Kelly chuckled and shook his head.

"Anyway, what did you want to ask me?" she said.

"Why did you call Chief and tell him I was fine?" he asked.

"Because you are. Nothing bad on the CT scan at all." She said.

"Yeah, but usually the doctor reports to the chief what they found and then the chief decides, but apparently you suggested I be returned to duty as soon as possible." He said.

"It was just a suggestion." She shrugged. The waiter put their drinks down and pulled out his order pad.

"What can I get you two for dinner?" he asked.

"I'll take the 16 oz rib eye." She said.

"Baked potato or fries?" he asked.

"Fries." She said handing him her menu.

"Salad dressing?" he asked.

"No salad." She said.

"And for you sir?" he asked.

"32 oz rib eye, fries, no salad." He said passing him his menu.

"Alright, we'll have that out shortly." He said as he walked away.

"Fries and no salad. Isn't that a little unhealthy doc?" he asked with a smirk.

"Hey, I work out, but I enjoy eating too. Food is good, and as long as I work it off, I'm good." She said.

"Ok, favorite work out?" he asked.

"I love to run. You?" She said.

"Running is nice, but dead lifts are better." He smirked. Ella chuckled and nodded.

"Well maybe we can work out together sometime." She said. He nodded and remembered they'd been talking about something else.

"So anyway, you suggested return to duty ASAP. Why?" he asked. Ella sighed and leaned forward on her hand and she shrugged.

"I know how much you love your job. Probably about the same as I love mine. And I know how I'd feel if someone told me I had to stop working for a week or two. I know you're fine, there's no sign of trauma of anything so I know you can work. I don't regret that decision." She said shrugging. He stared at her for a long while before her swallowed the lump in his throat. A woman had never made him feel this way before. He'd had his share of women, but none had been like this, smart, beautiful, and passionate.

"So tell me about your family?" he asked.


	8. Chapter 8

**I'm so glad you all love this story, here is the next chapter, hope you guys enjoy it!**

**Chapter 8**

He watched as Ella's eyes lit up. He could tell she cared a lot about her family.

"We've all lived in Vernon since I can remember. My Mamaw…sorry, grandma was born in the Delta in 1923, she moved to Vernon when she was 12 and started going to school there, where she met my grandpa. They married when they were just 17 and moved in together. He became the sheriff of Vernon and they had five kids. Unfortunately though, three died while growing up, which left my mom and uncle. My uncle died when I was 5 from cancer. He never had any children. My mom met my dad in high school and married him the day after graduation. They had my sister, brother, and I. We grew up in Vernon my father took over my grandpa's spot and became the sheriff, my mom and sister are teachers at the school, my brother is a deputy, and here I am." She said with a smile.

"And what do you call your grandparents?" he asked with a large smile. He wasn't used to that southern twang, and it interested him, a lot. She flushed red, the flush started at her throat and ran down her chest, his eyes followed it slowly to the top of her breast. They moved ever so slightly as she took a deep breath.

"I like it." he said.

"Like what?" she asked propping her chest up on her arms on purpose. He smirked and looked up at her face.

"Your accent. Tell me, what do you call them?" he asked again.

"Mamaw and Papaw." She said as the flush slowly disappeared. Kelly could not help the smile that came to his lips.

"And are your parents momma and daddy?" he asked using his best southern accent. She burst into laughter and shook her head.

"Only when I want something." She said.

"Here we go guys." Their waiter said sitting his tray down on the prop. He sat their plates down in front of them one by one and then stepped back.

"Anything else?" he asked.

"I'll have a jack and coke please." She said.

"Didn't like the wine?" he asked.

"No, it was good. I just prefer the Jack and Coke." She said. He nodded and took the wine glass.

"No drunk driving remember." Kelly said.

"I walked." She smirked repeating something he'd said.

* * *

Ella only had three Jack and Cokes, she reminded herself that she wasn't going to drink too much. She didn't know Kelly well enough just yet to do that. The waiter sat the check down and thanked them. Ella carelessly reached for it and Kelly jerked it up.

"There is no way I'm letting you pay for this." he said.

"I asked you out." Ella defended.

"I don't care." He said with a smile.

"Come on Kelly. I promise I'm not one of those little damsels you're used to dating. I can pay for my own meal." She said. He raised a single brow.

"And just how many women do you think I've dated?" he asked. Ella snorted and covered her mouth with her hand.

"Oh please Severide. I'm definitely not stupid." She said. He looked her over once more before he put his card in the holder and passed it to the waiter as he came back by. Her mouth dropped open and she glared.

"Kelly!" she hissed. He couldn't help his chuckle, the way she said his name was perfect.

"You can make it up to me." he said. Her smile dropped and she bit her bottom lips slightly, he had a feeling he'd crossed the line, but she quickly recovered and ran her eyes over him.

"Yeah, I guess I can." She said.

"Let's get going." He said. She nodded and stood up. They stepped out onto the windy street and Ella tugged her jacket around her shoulders.

"Cold?" Kelly asked.

"No, I'm fine." She said nodding.

"Lead the way." He gestured. Ella turned towards him and cocked her head to the side a little.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I'm walking you home Ella. This isn't a small town. Woman walking down the street alone is asking for trouble." He said. Ella leaned back and chuckled.

"Alright fine. Come, be my knight in shining armor." She said walking in front of him. He briefly paused and looked down at her hips as they swayed back and forth. Her long, toned legs looking particularly delicious in the tall blue heels. He hurried along behind her as she made her way up the street.

"Why'd you decide to become a Doctor Ella?" he asked when he caught up with her.

"Why did you decide to become a Fire Fighter Severide?" she asked. He grinned wide, he liked it when she called him that.

"I wanted to help people. That's all I've ever wanted. Rescue people, work hard, and give life back to someone." He said.

"Exactly. Generic answer. A lot of times that is just how it is, you want to save lives, help people. But some people have deeper stories. Maybe you became a firefighter because you knew someone that died in a fire. I became a doctor because when I was 10 years old my best friend and I were riding our bikes along the main road when a man, about my age now, looked down at his cell phone for 10 seconds, he swerved into us, ran her over. They rushed us to the local hospital, except the doctor lived an hour away and he'd been sent home because he had a cold. He was the only doctor and before he could get there Sarah bled to death. I had a broken leg, and a fractured pelvis. I became a doctor because of that." she said as she slipped her hands into her pockets. Kelly stared at her as she spoke, he'd truly never met anyone like her.

"Wow." Kelly said. They approached her building and she climbed up the steps to the door, he followed and stood in front of her.

"The night I was born our house caught on fire. My mom was there alone, my dad was at work. She couldn't get out. A firefighter busted down the door and saved her and me if you think about it. My mom went into labor as soon as we got out, she delivered me happy and healthy a few hours later. She named me after the man who saved us. So that is why when people ask me how long I've been a fire fighter I say since the day I was born." He said. Ella chuckled and leaned closer to him.

"Cold?" he asked again.

"A little." She said.

Ella leaned closer to him. They were close and this time she wouldn't reject his kiss.

"Are you sure?" he asked as he looked down at her.

"Yeah, I am." She said. She moved up on her tip toes quickly and pressed her lips to his. He responded by leaning against her and slipping his hand behind her hair, holding her neck gently, his other hand on her cheek, pulling her into him. She relaxed, leaning against him heavily and opening her mouth to him. Ella wanted to leap into his arms as his right hand dropped and wrapped tightly around her waist, his tongue swirling inside her mouth, his lips working their way over hers so gently, but so rough at the same time. Ella grabbed his shirt and held him close for the last few seconds of the kiss. When they pulled apart Ella's breathing was erratic and her heart was pounding, heat waves flowing through her body, tingles were running up and down her spine and she felt weak in the knees. Every fiber below the belt told her to grab his hand and drag him to her bed, but the brain in her head screamed at her not to do anything stupid. She swallowed hard and untangled herself from him.

"I'll see you later." She said softly. She hit the code for her building quickly and the door popped open.

"Yeah, later." He said as she walked into the building. The door closed and he watched her walk away until she disappeared around the corner. He was still having a hard time catching his breath after that kiss. He walked back down the steps and sighed, that kiss would be on his mind for days.

* * *

Ella sat down at her desk and smiled over at the picture of she had taken with her sister and brother a few months back. Her brother in his uniform and her sister in her little teacher outfit, long pencil skirt, light green blouse underneath with a tan wrap over it. She chuckled as the phone buzzed.

"Dr. Dennison, you have a Rebecca Dennison on line 1." Patrice said.

"Thanks." Ella said. She ripped up the phone and hit the button.

"Becca!" Ella squealed.

"El!" her sister squealed back on the other end.

"How are you?" Ella asked quickly.

"I'm good, I'm really good. I have some news." She said quickly.

"Oh tell me tell me." Ella said.

"I'm engaged!" she yelled. Ella laughed and cheered.

"Wow Becca, wow. I'm so happy for you!" Ella said.

"Ah, me too El, I've just been waiting for him to propose for so long, I though he never would." She said. Ella laughed and nodded as she leaned back and crossed her legs.

"I agree, he's a little slow on the drawl, but he gets the job done." Ella said. Becca chuckled.

"So what about you? You know mom and dad are going stir crazy. They miss the hell out of you." Becca said.

"I'm good. My job is great, I have an office, an assistant, my own phone." She said.

"Any men in your life?" she asked. Ella stopped speaking suddenly and smirked.

"Oh…you're silent, there is a man! Who is he?" Becca asked. Ella sighed and shook her head.

"Swear you won't tell mom and dad?" she asked.

"I swear." Becca squeaked.

* * *

"Oh my god El! What in the world, he sounds perfect. And a firefighter, god I bet he's delicious." Becca said.

"Becca, you're a taken woman." Ella laughed.

"Doesn't mean I can't appreciate a fine product." She said.

"So when is yall's next date?" she asked.

"Uh…I don't really know." Ella said.

"Well call him and ask!" Becca said. Ella paused and grumbled to herself.

"What? What is it?" Becca asked.

"I kind of don't have his number." Ella said.

"Oh, you gave him yours?" Becca asked.

"Not exactly." Ella corrected.

"So let me get this straight, you've been out with this guy twice, he saved your ass from a burning building, you gave him medical care, kissed him, made him Mamaw's cake, and you still don't have his phone number?" Becca asked.

"Um…yeah." Ella said.

"Hang up this phone right now and call his firehouse and give him your number." She said. Ella sighed and pursed her lips.

"No Becca, not my style." She said.

"Well hell then be flashy about it, just give the man your damn number." She said.

"Fine. I'll talk to you soon ok." Ella said.

"Ok, love you El." She said.

"Love you too Becca." Ella hung up the phone and quickly typed in her login on her computer. She hit enter and search the internet for a number. A smile appeared on her face and she slowly picked up the phone.

* * *

Kelly plopped down in his chair and propped his feet up on the table. His shoulder was killing him and he needed a nap. His stomach rumbled and he looked over his shoulder to see how far along Mills was in cooking.

"Delivery for a Kelly Severide." Kelly glanced up at the man standing in the doorway holding a bag.

"That's me." Kelly said lifting his hand.

"Here you go man, enjoy." He said passing him the bag. Kelly took it and sat it down in front of him as people milled around behind him, watching to see what it was. He opened the bag and the overwhelming smell of steak hit him. He pulled out the box and saw that Downtown Eating was scrolled across the top. He popped the lid and inside was a 32oz steak with fries, still hot. He looked on the inside of the top and inside scrolled in marker was a phone number followed by the words "Take a little off what I owe you –Ella." He smirked and shook his head.

"Oh wow, that was nice of her." Shay said walking up behind him. Kelly closed the box and nodded.  
"Yeah, it was." He said.

"What exactly does she owe you?" Shay asked wiggling her eyebrows. Kelly chuckled and shook his head.  
"Nothing at all." He said grabbing his cell phone.

* * *

A knock on her door brought her head up from where she was buried in her papers.

"Delivery for Ella Dennison." A man said knocking.

"Come in." she called. The door opened and a man stepped in. Ella couldn't see his head because it was shielded by a huge bouquet of lilies.

"Here you go ma'am." He said sitting the flowers down on her desk. Ella thanked him as he left and she plucked the card from the middle as she leaned back.

"I kind of like it when you owe me. Thanks for the food. – Kelly." She read out loud. She laughed and shook her head.

"Oh Severide you sly dog." She said.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Ella laughed as they sat side by side and drank. Kelly with his beer and Ella with her coke. His couch was actually pretty comfortable and she liked being this close to him. Shay, Dawson, and Casey were seated around the small table in the middle as well. All chatting and laughing.

"So Ella, Kelly mentioned that the town you lived in was pretty small." Shay said passing her another coke. Ella took a drink and nodded quickly.

"It is very tiny. I love it though." She said.

"So were in Alabama is Vernon?" Dawson asked.

"It is right over the Mississippi state line. Closer to the top of Alabama." She said. They all nodded along as the game came back on. Ella sat back on the couch and sipped her drink as they all yelled at the TV. She chuckled as she watched them, yell back and forth at the TV. Kelly glanced back at her and noticed she was just watching with amusement. He turned his body toward her slightly and put his hand on her thigh.

"Bored?" he asked. Ella shook her head and leaned up, placing a small kiss on his cheek.

"Not at all." She said

"I want you to consider something." Kelly said. He leaned down and gave her a short brief kiss, even that made his heart pound. Kelly pulled back and looked down into her bright green eyes. He'd only ever had a girlfriend briefly in high school, until he grew into his looks and realized that he didn't have to make a commitment. But maybe Ella was worth that. He really liked her, and he wanted to be with her. He enjoyed sitting next to her and drinking a beer much more than he enjoyed going to a bar and looking through girls. Dating Ella wouldn't be half bad. She was unlike any girl he'd ever met before, she took care of him, laughed with him, sat on his couch and watched sports with him, and her kisses were like stepping into a burning building. It made his heart race, it was hot, and he loved every second of it.

"What?" she asked slowly as he looked down at her.

"Why not?" he shrugged.

"Why not what?" Ella asked.

"Let's give it a shot. Be my girlfriend." He said.

"What?" She asked.

"Kelly don't play games." Ella said pulling away.

"I'm not playing Ella. I want you to be my girlfriend." He said. Ella paused and looked at him.

"Seriously?" she asked.

"Yes seriously, just consider it. You don't have to answer me right now." he said

He leaned back with her and she slipped under his arm casually. Her shoulder leaning against him gently as his fingers slowly and barely stroked her arm. His eyes focused on the TV. Ella realized he didn't even know what he was doing, but he was still doing it. She didn't know what to do, or say about what he'd asked, but she would consider it. She really liked Kelly, he was a great guy, and she wanted to be with him. She caught Shay looking over at them and they shared a secret smile before Shay turned back to the TV. Kelly jerked away and yelled something at the TV and Ella just chuckled and drank her drink. She slid her hand into his and he looked over at her.

"Yes." She mouthed. He smirked and squeezed her hand.

"Really?" he asked.

"Yes really." She said leaning up and pressing her lips to his. It was a small short kiss but Ella was happy, very happy.

* * *

"Ella can I have some ice cream!?" Mary asked as she skipped around the apartment.

"No, dinner is in two hours and you're not going to ruin it by munching on some sweets." Ella said quickly.

"Why don't you draw a picture." She suggested pointing toward the crayons. The intercom buzzed and Ella hit the button.

"Hello?" she asked.

"Ella, it's Kelly." He said quickly. Her eyebrows knitted together and she hit the code to buzz him in.

"Come on in." she called. A few moments later he was opening the door. Ella looked up and smiled to him.

"You're off work pretty early." She said. He nodded briskly and Ella's eyes immediately went to his arm, he wasn't using it as much as he usually did. He acted like it kind of hurt.

"Yeah, I um took off for an appointment. I came down to see you but they said you were off today. So I came over, I need to ask a favor." He said.

"Hello, what's your name?" Mary said as she grabbed his pants leg. He smirked down at her.

"Kelly." He said. She nodded and pursed her lips.

"Can I draw a picture of you?" she asked. Kelly glanced up at Ella for a suggestion and she just shrugged.

"Um…sure." He said. Ella laughed and grabbed a coke from the fridge. She offered it to him but he shook his head. She stood on her tip toes and they shared a quick kiss.

"I actually have to get back to work, but um, would you be interested in going to the Fireman's ball with me tonight? I know it's short notice, but I completely forgot about it until The Chief reminded us today." he said. Ella cocked her head to the side and put her hand on her hip.

"Or is it because all your other girlfriends said no?" Ella asked. He chuckled and shook his head.

"I'm not seeing anyone else Ella." He said. She smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, ok, sure, I'll come. What should I wear?" she asked.

"A cocktail dress." He said. Ella snorted and nodded.

"Got it, cocktail dress." She said.

"I'll pick you up at 7." He said.

"See you later Severide." She called as he opened the door.

"Bye El." He waved.

* * *

"Oh God, this is so ugly!" Ella screeched as she looked in the mirror. Maggie sighed and stood up off the bed.

"Ella whatever you wear is going to look great on you. It's 6:50, he'll be here soon. Put a damn dress on!" Maggie said. Ella sighed and grabbed the last dress in her closet and she pulled it on. It was a short, red, form fitting, strapless dress that was poofy at the bottom. It was sparkly from top to bottom and it made her boobs look good.

"Alright, ok, this is ok right?" she asked Maggie. Maggie shoved the red closed toe pumps in her face and glared.

"Put them on. You look wonderful." She said. The intercom buzzed and Ella grabbed her clutch.

"Have fun, you look great, now get out of here!" Maggie pushed her out the door. Ella laughed and walked down the hallway, her hair was pulled into a side ponytail, with big thick curls flowing down her shoulder. She pushed open the door only to find Kelly standing there, holding her door open. He was wearing an all black suit and her knees wobbled involuntarily. They wobbled more when she looked at the sexy machine sitting on her curb.

"Oh wow. This is your car?" she asked as she eased down into the seat. He ran around and jumped in.

"Yeah, it is. You like it?" he asked.

"Oh I love it." she said.

"By the way, you look stunning." He said.

"You're very handsome tonight." She said putting her hand on his thigh.

* * *

Kelly placed his hand on her lower back as they walked into the huge dining hall. There were tons of people, families, friends, other service men and women. He led her towards a table closer to the front. Casey, Dawson, and Shay were there, each with their own date.

"Hey guys." Ella said as they walked up.

"Hey Ella, this is my friend Jenna." Casey said.

"Ella." She said taking the girl's hand.

"This is Kyle." Gabriela said.

"Emma." Shay said nodding to her. Ella took each hand and introduced herself as Kelly pulled out her chair. She sat down and smiled.

"You look wonderful by the way." Dawson said.

"Yeah, that dress is gorgeous." Shay nodded. Casey, Kelly, and Kyle stood to get drinks, leaving the girls at the table.

"To be honest I went through everything in my closet tonight." She said.

"Ah, Kelly would be impressed by anything as long as you showed him your tits at the end of the night." Jenna said smiling. Ella leaned back, slightly appalled that this woman she didn't even know would say that. Shay glared and opened her mouth to say something, but Gabby coughed and Ella beat her to it.

"Um, ok, good to know." Ella chuckled. Jenna seemed to roll her eyes and look away from the table, seeming all around bored.

"You know Gabby I think I would have preferred if you and Matt would have come together." Ella said. Jenna's mouth fell open and she glared. Ella had learned of Gabby and Matt's little flirtation the moment she walked in the firehouse. The chemistry between the two was undeniable. The guys came back and Kelly placed a drink in front of Ella.

"Coke." He smiled.

"Thanks, come on sit." She patted the chair. He sat down and Ella slid her chair closer. Her hand went around Kelly's back and she rubbed his shoulder.

"You know, I was recently informed that no matter what I wear you'll like it as long as I show you my tits at the end of the night." Ella said into his ear. Kelly's head snapped toward her quickly.

"What?" he asked an incredulous look on his face. Ella chuckled and lifted her hand, she ran her index finger over his ear and shook her head.

"I don't listen to gossip." She said.

"Who told you that?" he asked, his eyes going right over to Jenna.

"Hey, don't worry about her. Let's have fun ok?" she said taking his chin and turning his face back toward hers.

"If she says anything else, tell me." he said.

"Of course." Ella said. He leaned forward and placed a small peck on her lips.

* * *

As the night marched on, Ella had listened to at least 15 people make speeches, she'd listened to Jenna ramble on about her cat while Dawson and Shay rolled their eyes and mimicked her ignorance. Casey seemed very annoyed with her as well and Ella felt bad that he was stuck with her. Finally the band took their place on the stage and started up. Ella smiled and started tapping her foot as a familiar song came on, it was I'll be and it was made to dance to. She smiled at Kelly as he chatted away. When he finally looked at her he smirked.

"Want to dance?" he asked.

"You read my mind." She said. He pulled her from her seat and walked her to the dance floor where he quickly pulled her close and tucked her against him. His feet and body moved perfectly with the rhythm as his hands held her. She made sure her hands were holding him as well as they moved across the floor.

"Why did you get so upset when I told you what Jenna said?" she asked.

"You weren't pissed?" he asked.

"I'm not really the jealous type Kelly. I always felt like if a man wants to run around he will, as long as he has the decency to tell me first, then we're done and he can have his fun. Plus we're dating Severide, I won the prize from the machine and it's coming home with me." She said. Kelly laughed and nodded.

"Alright, well don't just be so cool with it." he said.

"Would you like me to be jealous Kelly? Do you want me to go punch her in the face, because I will." She smirked, her sarcasm dripping over.

"You're a sarcastic ass." he chuckled.

"Yeah I am." She said as the song ended. They headed back over to the table and Jenna was in full on bitch mode. Ella could tell.

"Welcome back." Jenna said. Ella sat down and smiled really big.

"Thanks." She said.

"You should really give Anna a call Kelly, she's been wondering where you are. I mean we all know you're a whore, but at least have a little respect." Jenna said crossing her arms and sitting back. Casey's mouth dropped open slightly and Ella felt Kelly tense next to her. She reached under the table and placed a calming hand on his thigh as she took a sip of her drink. She eased it back down to the table and waited a brief ten seconds while the band started back up.

"Listen sweetheart, I know what you're trying to do, and trust me it's not making me jealous; it's just pissing me off. I'm not going to scream and yell because I'm not going to embarrass Kelly because I respect him too much. But I am going to say this, if you don't close you damn mouth, I'm going to take you outside and show you how my momma used to whoop my ass when I stepped out of line." Ella said. She leaned back and smoothed her hands down her dress and smiled at her. Jenna glared and huffed once, twice, before she stood quickly, grabbed her jacket and marched out.

"Sorry Casey." Ella said sympathetically.

"Oh no, thank you." He said. Everyone erupted in laughter and Kelly leaned in close to her.

"You know how sexy you are to me right now?" he asked. Ella leaned back slightly and looked into his eyes.

"Probably not nearly as sexy as you are to me." she smirked.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

"I don't know where to park!" Ella yelled over the obnoxious half screaming half singing in Kelly's car.

"Here! Right here!" Kelly pointed and yelled in her ear. Ella shook her head and pulled the car into a spot outside his building. She watched as Emma pulled her car in next to them and she and Shay climbed out.

"Come on Kel." She smiled and slipped out of the seat. He got out and Ella made sure to lock the doors and grab the keys. Kelly chuckled as Shay and Emma walked in front of them. He swung his arm around Ella's shoulders as they walked into the Elevator and she smirked. The doors opened and they quickly made their way to the front door. Ella fumbled briefly with the keys and unlocked the door before pushing it open. They stumbled in, mostly because Kelly was leaning heavily on her.

"Come on big guy." Ella said. She put him on the winding staircase first and put her hands on his hips, pushing him up. Shay and Emma were downstairs making some food as Ella got Kelly into his room.

"Night clothes?" Ella asked looking around the large room.

"Boxers." He said standing still. Ella put her hands on her hips and glared.

"Do it yourself mister. I'll be back with some food in just a minute ok?" she said. She shook her head as she walked down the stairs. Shay and Emma stood in front of the counter, Shay was flipping burgers over and chuckling at something Emma said. Ella took the plate and bun that she was passed.

"What does he eat on his burgers?" Ella asked shrugging. Shay pursed her lips and passed her the ketchup and mustard.

"Onion, tomato, pickles, and lettuce are in the fridge." Shay chuckled. Ella nodded and quickly set to fixing the burger with everything on it. She finished it quickly and lifted the plate.

"Ok, Shay will you call me a cab. As soon as I give this to him I'm heading home." she said.

"Oh Ella, please stay." Shay smiled and passed her another burger. Ella frowned and shook her head.

"I don't know Shay. Kelly and I aren't really…" she trailed off. Shay blew a raspberry and stuck her tongue out.

"Blah blah blah, no one said to go up there and have sex with him, just stay the night." she said. Ella rolled her eyes and took a large bite of the burger.

"Fine, I'll stay." Ella grabbed Kelly's burger and turned away.

"Goodnight." She called.

"Night!" Shay called back. Ella hurried up the stairs and stopped as soon as she entered Kelly's room. She was frozen, Kelly was standing at the foot of his bed, in only his boxers. He was pulling out a fresh pair of boxers and Ella could not move. He was exactly what she had expected. His chest was broad, and muscled, his arms were thick, corded, and she wanted them around her, tight, holding her. His abdomen was immaculate and the only thing she wanted to do more than touch him was lick him. She coughed quickly and he turned his head.

"Ella." He said with a slightly drunken smirk.

"I brought you some food." She said.

"Oh wow, thanks." He said taking the burger in his hands and leaving the plate. Ella chuckled and sat the plate down. Ella watched as he finished the burger rather quickly. He reached out and took hold of her hand, gently pulling her against him and she wanted to pull away, but she didn't because he was so warm, and muscled. She lifted her hands and put them on his biceps as his lips came crashing down. The kiss was everything she expected and more. It was deep, breath stealing, and passionate. He broke away and took hold of her zipper, pulling it down in one smooth motion. Ella didn't stop him because his lips were on her neck, sucking, biting, kissing a fiery path across her bare shoulder as he slid her dress down her body leaving her in only her bra and panties. He pressed his lips to hers again and took her mouth hard and fast as he backed her up. Ella fell onto the bed and kicked her shoes off. Kelly was on top of her in an instant, kissing, licking, sucking, her neck, shoulders, and collar bone. Kelly pulled back for an instant and Ella quickly realized what she was doing. She was about to have sex with someone who was very drunk and a renowned player. He moved to kiss her again and she pulled back.

"What's wrong?" he asked looking down at her. She pulled back from him and sat up. He followed suit and raised his eyebrows.

"Not now Kelly. You're drunk." She said softly. Usually it wouldn't have been an issue, but she really liked Kelly, and she didn't want him to just wake up in the morning with no recollection of their night. He pursed his lips and then nodded.

"Yeah, ok, I am kind of drunk. We'll just sleep." He said nodding. Ella felt like cheering, she didn't have to have sex with him to get to sleep in his half naked arms. She did however feel slightly awkward that she was in just a bra and panties. Kelly pulled the covers back and flicked the light on the bedside table off. Ella eased under the covers and curled up on her side. Kelly laid on his back next to her and reached out.

"Come here." he said softly. Ella slid across the soft sheets until she was pressed firmly against his chest. Kelly wrapped his other arm around her and Ella settled her head against his chest.

"Goodnight Kelly." She said.

"Night Ella." He whispered back.

* * *

The sunlight poured in and right into Ella's eyes. Thank God she didn't have to go to work because she had a massive headache. Not like she drank a lot last night, she suspected it was because she desperately needed food. She looked up and smiled at the man sleeping soundly next to her. One of his arms was behind his head, the other, resting on her hip. She reluctantly moved her hands from where they lay on his chest, and she swiftly rolled away from him. She hopped to her feet and looked back at him, he was sound asleep still. She ground her teeth as she threw a glare toward her red dress. She was not putting that back on. She reached down and grabbed the gray t-shirt on the floor and she slipped it on over her head. It smelled just like him and she enjoyed that a lot. Ella made her way down the winding staircase and into the kitchen. No one was up so she got to work. She set a pot of coffee on and pulled open the fridge.

"Let's see what we have in here." she said looking around. Ella grabbed up the eggs, butter, cheese, and bacon.

"Perfect." She said. Her hands worked fast as she made up four omelets and fried the bacon. She sat four plates in front of her and filled each plate with food. She could hear moving upstairs and she knew people were waking up. Ella sat the plates on the counter and poured four cups of coffee before she put everything back in the fridge.

"Morning." Shay's voice said. Ella looked over her shoulder and saw Shay and Emma making their way to the counter.

"Morning." Ella said

"Is this for us?" she asked pointing. Ella nodded and grabbed her plate. She looked up as Kelly made his way down the stairs. He was rubbing his eyes and rotating his shoulder as if he'd slept on it wrong.

"Morning." Ella said as she put some bacon in her mouth.

"Breakfast?" he asked looking at the only plate left on the counter.

"Yep, enjoy." Ella said as she ate some of her omelet and drank her coffee.

"You made this?" he asked.

"I did." She said.

"Thanks." He said.

"No problem Severide." She said putting her plate in the dishwasher. She sipped her coffee and then lifted her phone.

"Who are you calling?" he asked.

"I was going to call my friend Maggie to come get me." she said.

"No, I'll take you home as soon as I finish eating." He said.

"You don't have to do that." Ella said.

"I know, but I have to go to the gym anyway." he said. Ella nodded and noticed he was almost finished eating.

"I'll just go get dressed." She said. He opened his mouth to speak but Ella hurried up the stairs before he could. She was only slightly embarrassed of her actions last night. Her momma would have killed her if she could see her now.

* * *

The car ride home was slightly awkward. Ella didn't know what to say to him, she didn't know if she should talk about their kissing and almost having sex, or if she should just let it go and never speak of it again. She spent most of the ride staring out her window and watching the cityscape pass by. She looked up when they reached her building and Kelly parked on the curb.

"I had fun last night, thanks for inviting me." Ella said turning to him.

"Yeah me too. Thanks for coming. And thanks for telling Jenna off." He said. Ella chuckled and nodded.

"You're welcome." She said.

"So I'll see you soon." He said. Ella nodded slowly and opened her door.

"Yeah, soon." She smiled and turned to get out. But Kelly's hand shot out and he captured her wrist. Ella winced, and she knew he noticed, it was a hard wince that was hard not to notice, but he ignored it and pulled her toward him. Ella went willingly and when his lips touched hers, she felt everything someone was supposed to feel, fireworks, sparks, magic, heat, passion, and so much more. She opened her mouth and lifted her hand from his hold, gently placing it along his jaw and running a smooth finger over the hard line as he slowly stopped and pulled back.

"Movie, tomorrow night, my place." He said. Ella nodded and pulled away.

"See you tomorrow night." she said as she slipped from the car and walked into her building without looking back, because she knew if she did, then she would definitely go jump his bones.

* * *

Kelly pulled up outside the hospital and lifted the lunch plate that he'd picked up for Ella. He walked into the front of the building and stopped at the nurse's desk.

"I'm here to see Ella Dennison." He said.

"Is she expecting you?" the woman asked.

"Probably not." He smirked and gave the cute brunette behind the desk his best smile.

"Are you her boyfriend?" she asked. Kelly could see the jealousy there in her eyes, he'd seen it a lot.

"Yes." He said with a smile.

"Oh, well her office is right down the hallway, fourth door on the left." She said pointing. Kelly thanked her and made his way down the hallway. He liked Ella a lot, and he respected her for telling him no last night. But what he didn't understand was the wince when he'd caught her wrist in the car. At first he thought he'd scared her, but she didn't seem like the type to scare that easily. Then he thought he might have hurt her, but he didn't grab her that hard. And the final thought that came to his mind was that it was a conditioned response. He'd seen that kind of flinch before, on women that have been grabbed and then hit. If they are conditioned that after the initial grab there will be a slap or punch, then of course they would flinch. So after coming to that Kelly just shrugged it off, thinking, surely not, she was too strong to allow someone to do that to her. But then Kelly wondered why she'd left her hometown and come all the way to Chicago. Maybe she was running from someone. All these thought ran through his head as he approached the door pointed out by the girl. On the front it read: 'Dr. E. Dennison, Co-Head Physician.' He didn't get it at first but when he looked across the hall at the door it read: 'Dr. B. Nichols, Head Physician.' He smirked. She was second in command here, wow, he had to give her props. He lifted his hand and knocked heavily.

"Come in!" her voice called. Kelly pushed open the door and his smile widened, she was sitting at her desk in her white lab coat, her face buried in a file. Her beautiful raven hair was pulled into a tight ponytail and she just looked appetizing. She looked up, smiled, and Kelly melted. She was stunning, here at work, she radiated. He could tell she loved her job.

"Hey there, I thought our date was tonight?" she asked as she stood and came around her desk.

"It is, but I decided to bring you a little lunch." He said passing her the plate of food covered in tin foil.

"What is it?" she asked.

"It's some kind of pasta with chicken in it." he said. Ella raised her eyebrows.

"Mills made it." he said quickly.

"Ah." Ella said putting the plate down on her desk, she knew the candidate well and she knew that he was a wonderful cook.

"Also, I wanted to see you." He smirked and wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her against him. She felt divine there, pressed against his chest. He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers softly. The kiss was slow and sensual, and Kelly loved every second of it.

Ella sighed into the kiss, she loved the feel of his lips on hers, and she knew immediately what she wanted.


	11. Banner!

So someone suggested I make a banner and I thought it was a good idea, so I made a little picture for all you guys! Hope you all enjoy! Leave reviews and tell me what you think. Here is the link!

hailey brianna sterling *** tumblr *** com

Where ever there is a *** replace it with a . and then of course delete spaces.


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

He pulled her tighter against him. She laughed as he kissed her but quickly stopped when he deepened the kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled her body into his. His hands ran down her back and he lifted her up into his arms. Ella didn't think twice as she wrapped her legs around his waist. Yeah, they were in her office, and it only made her want him more. He was so unbelievably sexy to her right now. Maybe it was the fact that she could call him her boyfriend, but she didn't much care either way when his lips left hers and he hit that sweet spot, right below her jaw, he nibbled and Ella suppressed the urge to moan loudly. She made a split second decision, they were in her office, but he was sober and so was she. She released him and slid down his body before she grabbed her office door and locked it. She tossed her coat to the floor and removed her scrubs quickly.

"Right now?" Kelly asked with a chuckle.

"Right now." She said nodding. She hadn't quite settled in yet, so most of her desk was still empty. She hopped onto her desk and reached behind her, pulling her bra off and tossing it to the floor.

"Your move Severide." She said leaning back on her hands. She wasn't embarrassed in the least bit, she had a great rack and she knew it. He grabbed his shirt and pulled it over his head, followed quickly by his pants sliding down his legs.

"I just hope you're not a screamer." She said. He gave her a devilish smirk and came towards her. His hand sunk behind her head, the other going to the small of her back as he pulled her up and kissed her again. His head dropped down and he captured one of her nipples, taking it into his mouth and swirling it around quickly. Ella tossed her head back and ground her teeth, trying to keep the moans inside. Her heart was pounding as he showed her breast the most attention they'd ever been shown, one hand gently tugging and massaging, while his mouth sucked and licked. Her nails scored his back as his free hand dropped to her panties, tugging them down and off her hips quickly. His fingers where there next, rubbing small circles, tantalizing, trying to pull moans from her lips. She kept them sealed and only made small grunting noises as her whole body ached to cry out. Kelly's boxers where gone, she could tell, because the only thing she felt was his bare skin against hers. She leaned back and slid her hips toward his. He gently took her thighs and pushed them further apart as he stepped in between them. He slowly pushed into her and Ella arched upward, grabbing onto him as she forced herself to not moan. He moved his hips slowly at first, allowing her to get used to his size, but a few moments later the pace quickened and Ella threw her head back further, tossing the bothersome pony tail over her shoulder. She felt that tingle building in her belly and she clenched down on him, he shuddered and dropped his head to her shoulder as he picked up the pace. Ella grabbed his shoulders and lifted her hips up to meet his, the tingle in her stomach intensified and she knew she was close.

"Kiss me." she mumbled. He lifted his head quickly and pressed his mouth over hers as her orgasm ripped through her. She moaned into his mouth and squeezed her eyes shut as her thighs tingled and her body shook, his pace never slowed as he rung every last shudder from her body before he finally reached his release and he slammed into her, grunting in her mouth and clenching his hands on the side of her desk. They stood, body to body, for no telling how long. Both breathing heavily, both sweating in the heat of her office, the air smelling of sex, fire, and peaches, her scent.

"Dr. Dennison to the ER, Dr. Dennison to the ER." The intercom called.

"Shit!" Ella said. She scrambled off her desk and jerked her clothes back on as fast as she could. Kelly chuckled as he pulled up his pants and turned to her.

"I've got to go. See you tonight." She said quickly. Kelly nodded as she jerked open the door.

"Oh!" she snapped her fingers and rushed back to him, jumping to her tip toes she pressed a kiss to his lips.

"Thanks for the afternoon delight and lunch. You're wonderful." She said before she turned and ran out of the room, pulling the door closed behind her. Kelly shook his head as he pulled his clothes on. After he was finished dressing he slid down into one of the chairs in front of her desk and slowly caught his breath. She was remarkable, truly the best sex he'd ever had, and that was going fast, imagine if they went slow. He didn't know if it was because they were dating, or if he just had some pent up tension, but that was amazing. He slowly rose from his chair and left the room as he shook his head in amazement.

* * *

Ella walked up to his door and knocked lightly. Within minutes it opened wide and Kelly's face was smiling back at her.

"Hello." She said. He reached out and pulled her into the loft, their lips met quickly and Kelly kicked the door closed behind her. Ella tossed her bag onto the ground and threw her arms around his neck. Their lips separated and they smiled at each other.

"So, what movie are we watching?" she asked.

"Actually, I made some dinner that we can enjoy first." He said taking her hand and leading her to the table. He pulled out her chair and she dropped down in it.

"Here we go." he said as he put the plate down in front of her. Ella looked down and laughed, it was a grilled cheese sandwich.

"Oh wow, grilled cheese." She said through a chuckle.

"Hey, it's the best I could do. I'm not a good cook." He said sitting down next to her.

"It's perfect, besides, did I not even mention that I adore grilled cheese." She said. He rolled his eyes and she leaned across the table and gave him a small peck on the lips, her hand ran over his cheek and she returned to her seat and took a big bite of her sandwich.

"Mmmm." She said chewing.

* * *

**Three months later**

Kelly was walking toward his locker when Casey passed by him. "Hey man." Casey nodded to him.

"Hey." He nodded back.

"We getting together at your place for the game tomorrow?" Kelly asked.

"Yeah we are, it starts at 6:30." Casey said.

"Good, we'll be there." he said.

"You're bringing Ella?" Casey asked.

"Yeah." He said.

"Are you two dating?" Casey asked quickly. Kelly glanced over his shoulder, he and Ella had agreed not to tell anyone about their relationship until it was a definite thing. Kelly thought it was time, they'd been together for three months today. But Ella was concerned with spilling the beans and then everything getting shot to shit as she said.

"No, just seeing each other." Kelly said with a smirk.

"Yeah I'll believe that when pigs fly." Casey said.

"What do you mean?" Kelly asked.

"You've been seeing this girl for three months, you haven't seen anyone else, very unusual for you. Just saying." Casey smirked. Kelly chuckled and nodded.

"Yeah, we're dating." Kelly said. Casey smiled and clapped his hand on Kelly's back.

"Congrats man. Finally settling down." he said. Kelly's eyes widened slightly, he wasn't settling down, he was just dating. Right?

* * *

Kelly pulled on his black button down and tucked it into the dark jeans he was wearing, his shoulder ached and he fought a wince as he made his way into the bathroom and grabbed his pills from under the towels. He'd hidden them there when Ella had stayed over. He quickly popped two and dry swallowed them. He headed downstairs and spotted Shay in the kitchen, pouring herself a shot of whatever she kept in the fridge.

"Drinking already?" he asked. She looked up and smiled.

"Haven't you ever heard of Pre-Game Severide?" she asked with a chuckle. He nodded and approached the bar.

"Why are you so dressed up?" she asked.

"Taking Ella to Harkin." He said.

"You two sure are going out a lot. I'm glad, I like her, she's a keeper." Shay smirked.

"I asked her to be my girlfriend." He said. Shay's head jerked up and she smiled wide.

"Really?" she asked.

"She said yes, three months ago." He said. Shay grabbed another double shot glass and poured it full.

"Harkin is down the street, you can walk, let's celebrate. And we will talk later about you keeping information from me." She said passing him the double.

"I don't know if that is a good idea." he chuckled. He really didn't know. He'd never mixed alcohol right on top of the pills before.

"Oh come on, don't be a sour puss. Drink it." Shay said lifting her glass. Kelly sighed and lifted the glass, clinking it against hers, he turned it up and it slid down his throat easily.

* * *

Ella walked into the slightly upscale restaurant and the hostess smiled widely.

"Good Evening ma'am. Welcome to Harkin." She said.

"Hi, I have a reservation under Severide." She said. The girl's eyes slid down to the paper in front of her and then she looked up and smiled.

"Right this way." She said waving her hand. She led her to a secluded booth in the back corner. She smiled as she sat down. How on earth did he always get a table in the back of the restaurant? She sat down and leaned back as she pulled her phone free of her purse. It was 7:10, she'd arrived a few minutes late, because Kelly usually did and she liked getting here about the same time. But he wasn't here yet, and that made her curious, it also made her self esteem lower a bit. Maybe he regretted everything that had happened in her office earlier that day, maybe he didn't want to be her boyfriend. She sighed and scanned over her phone while she waited.

* * *

Kelly pulled his hands free of his pockets. He was pretty hot considering the cold streets. He was sure the two doubles he'd taken with Shay were the reason he was warm, they were also the reason he was slightly tipsy as he walked slowly past Charley's Bar. He stopped when he spotted an empty bar stool. He looked forward and then turned and pulled the door open. It was a little warmer in here, but it was a nice warm, not an overwhelming heat. He sat down and looked at his watch, so he was a little late, he'd have one beer and head to Harkin.

"What'll it be Kelly?" the familiar face of the bartender asked walking up to them.

"Usual." He said.

* * *

Ella looked at her phone for the hundredth time that night.

"Eight o'clock, where the hell are you Kelly?" she asked out loud.

"Ma'am, would you like to order now?" the waiter asked again.

"No, I'm sorry, I think I've been stood up. I'm leaving." She said standing. She grabbed her purse and left quickly. She barely noticed the sympathetic looks she received from the other waiters as well as the hostess. She ground her teeth loudly as she got into her car and slammed the door. Her fingers quickly dialed Kelly's number and she jerked her phone to her ear. She was fuming, all she wanted to do was tell him off. But she didn't get the chance because he didn't pick up. She sat her phone down and took a few calming breaths.

"Ok, think." She said to herself. He could have worked a late shift, he could have had to do paperwork, maybe they had a call right before shift end, he might have gotten hurt at the call, or he might have gotten into a car accident on his way home. Her mind was running crazy. She grabbed her phone and dialed the firehouse.

"Chief Boden." The man said picking up the phone.

"Chief, hi, it's Ella Dennison. The doctor from Chicago Mercy." She said.

"Yes Ma'am, I remember you." He said.

"Yeah, ok, well I was wondering if the guys worked a late shift. I was supposed to have dinner with Kelly and he is really late." She said.

"No, no we didn't work a late one. Kelly left at the usual time, I'm sorry Ella, I don't know where he is." The Chief said. Ella sighed and nodded.

"Thanks." She said.

"No problem." He said as he hung up. Ella closed the call and quickly dialed another number.

"Hello?" Shay asked picking up.

"Shay, it's Ella." She said.

"Oh hey Ella. What's up?" she asked.

"Um, I was wondering if you know where Kelly is?" she asked.

"He was supposed to meet you at the restaurant. He left with plenty of time. We had a few shots before he left in celebration of you guys dating and all, but he was fine when he left. He's had much more than that and walked home before. But have you tried his cell phone?" Shay asked.

"Yeah, I have. I'll walk down towards your place and see if I see him anywhere." She said.

"Ok, call me if you can't find him and I'll come help look." She said.

"Ok, talk to you soon." She said. She hung up and climbed from her car. She reached in her backseat and grabbed her long jacket, pulling it tight over the short black dress she was wearing, and tying it tightly around the middle. Her heels clicked loudly on the sidewalk as she made her way toward Kelly's place.

* * *

Kelly finished his fifth beer and wobbled slightly on top of his stool. His pills where kicking in, on top of the alcohol, his whole body felt numb. He needed to get up and go to Harkin. He had to meet someone there, but he didn't know who, or he couldn't really remember.

"Kelly Severide." A familiar voice said. He wasn't sure who she was but she was pretty. She had long blonde hair, a slender body, and large breasts that were right in his face as he turned to her.

"Hey, how are you?" Kelly asked with a smile.

"Oh please Kelly, you act like we haven't seen each other in forever. Come on, come sit at my table, I'm all alone." She said, her face a full on pout. He smirked and nodded.

"Lead the way." He said.

* * *

Ella came out of the small bar and continued down the street. It was freezing cold and she wanted so much to turn back to her car. But despite her cold body, she was worried that Kelly had been too drunk to walk and had fallen somewhere, or ended up in a bar, drunk off his ass. She was pissed at him no doubt, she also wanted to rip his balls off, but she needed to make sure he was ok first. She looked ahead of her, and her walking faltered for a moment, there were several men walking toward her. They didn't look nice or friendly, they looked big and threatening. Ella balled her fists as she moved closer to the street just in case she had to run. Her feet carried her faster, past the group. She let out a heavy sigh as they continued walking and she smiled as she came into the light of more bars.

"I swear to god Severide I'm going to kill you." She growled.

* * *

Kelly leaned forward as the girl laughed and tossed her hair over her shoulder.

"Oh Kelly, I've missed you. I thought I'd never see you again. You avoid the girls you sleep with like the plague. That is unless you want it again. Is that what you're here for Kelly, do you want it again?" she asked leaning forward. She was so close and he could smell her perfume, he didn't like it. He liked peaches, he liked that smell, because it wasn't an obnoxious perfume, it was just how the girl smelled, the girl he liked. She smelled like peaches, she had raven colored hair, beautiful green eyes, he knew her. Where was she? Why wasn't she here?

"No, I don't think I do." He said shaking his head.

"Shhh, come here." she said sliding her hand behind his head. He wanted to pull back, so much, but he didn't. He didn't pull away because he missed the peaches girl, he wanted to be reminded of her, so he leaned forward and their lips touched.


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Ella moved quickly into Charley's bar. This was the last one, closest to the Kelly/Shay home and if she didn't find him here she didn't know what to do. She only knew to check at the hospitals, just in case something had happened. She moved to the bar and smiled at the older bartender.

"Hey, quick question, have you seen Kelly Severide tonight?" she asked. The bartender's eyes moved across the bar and he nodded his head toward the booths. Ella turned quickly and her heart stopped beating. No, she thought it literally stopped beating. Kelly was sitting in a booth next to the window, his lips pressed against some cheap slutty looking blonde. The kiss was gross, involving lots of tongue and saliva.

"Thanks." She mumbled to him. He nodded and continued down the bar as she just watched, that was all she could do. Her blood was racing through her and she felt like she was tearing in to. She'd claimed she wasn't the jealous type, even opened her mouth and told him so, but she had lied, she was so hurt right now she couldn't even move. She swallowed the lump in her throat as their kiss ended. She tried to hold back the tears. They'd only started dating three months ago, she knew he was a player, she expected this right? There shouldn't be tears because she knew this would happen right? Kelly's head came up and he spotted her, suddenly she was unfrozen. She could move. She felt her heart start loudly, banging in her chest, her skin feeling overwhelmingly warm.

"Ella." He mouthed her name. The blonde looked up and smirked slowly, and Ella was done. She rushed from the bar before he could move from his seat. Her heels were slowing her down; she stumbled as she reached down and ripped them off her feet.

"Ella! Ella stop! Wait! Please!" he called behind her. He reached out and grabbed her wrist and Ella reacted. She swung around and slapped him as hard as she could.

"You son of a bitch." She hissed. His face was stunned, he stared down at her and shook his head.

"I'm so sorry. It was an accident. I didn't mean too." He said quickly.

"I don't care. Don't call me, don't text me, don't come by my office. Stay the hell away from me." she said, she ripped her hand away from him and hurried away, practically running down the street away from a completely still Kelly.

* * *

Kelly's head was pounding as he walked into the loft and Shay rushed in.

"Kelly, where have you been? Ella called looking for you." She said. He paused and looked up.

"I messed up Shay." He said.

"What happened Kelly?" she asked, her face becoming serious.

"Ella found me in Charley's Bar, kissing another girl." He said slowly. Shay's mouth dropped open.

"What the hell?" she asked quickly.

"It was a huge mistake. A huge stupid mistake, I need to talk to her, I have to go see her." he said turning toward the door. Shay grabbed him and shook her head.

"Just give her time Kelly. Sleep on it ok, give her a few days." Shay said. His eyes dropped to the ground and he nodded.

"Yeah, good idea." he said. Shay patted his arm as he turned away and headed up the stairs. He couldn't get her face off his mind. The way she'd looked at him, like he was the worst person she'd ever met in her life. He could not forget the tears in her eyes, or the feeling of her hand connecting with his cheek, the sting of the slap. He felt like the biggest asshole on earth right now, and truth be told he probably was.

* * *

A week later Ella was sitting in her office glaring at her cell phone as it rang again. It was Kelly again, third time that day. She grabbed it up and pressed it to her ear.

"Call me again and I'll change my number." She said loudly.

"El-!" he barely got her name out before she ended the call and put her phone back down. She ran her hands down her temples and stared at her phone before a loud knock brought her head up.

"Come in." she called. The door opened and John stuck his head in. He was the male nurse who'd given her a tour.

"Hey John." She smiled.

"Dr. Dennison." He said as he stepped into her office.

"Ella, please." She said waving him forward. He came in and sat down in the chair in front of her desk.

"What can I do for you today?" she asked.

"Actually I wanted to ask you something?" he said. Ella nodded and crossed her legs under the desk.

"I know it's a little out of line, but I was wondering if you'd like to come to dinner with me tonight?" he asked. Ella was a little shocked, and she opened her mouth to quickly say no, but then she remembered that she was single.

"Sure John, I'd love to go to dinner. Where?" she asked.

"I'll pick you up at 7. Here is my number, text me your address." He said scribbling down his number and passing it to her. She took it between her fingers and nodded.

"See you tonight." She said. He chuckled and walked out of the office, with a small cocky smirk on his face. She actually enjoyed the smirk, she liked cocky guys, her previous lover could attest to that.

* * *

Kelly threw his shirt into his locker and hissed as his shoulder screamed at him. He ground his teeth at the pain and grabbed his regular shirt, jerking it over his head. He checked his phone, it was 7:10, no calls, no texts. He shoved past the pain and hurried out of the firehouse. He jumped into his car and hit the gas, he needed to see Ella, now. He pulled up at her building within minutes and hopped out. He knew Ella wouldn't buzz him in so he buzzed her neighbor.

"Hello?" Maggie's bright voice called.

"Maggie, it's Kelly. Can you buzz me in?" he asked.

"Kelly, look, I don't want to be in the middle of this. Ella doesn't want to see you." She said quickly.

"I know, I know, but I really need to talk to her. Please Maggie." He begged. Her intercom cut off and he kicked the wall.

"Shit!" he growled. The door buzzed loudly and Kelly grabbed the handle.

"Thank you Maggie, thank you." He said quickly as he rushed in. He turned down the hallway and knocked loudly on her door.

"One second!" Ella's voice called. His heart leapt to his throat, she was here. He needed to see her, even if she didn't want to speak to him, just seeing her would be perfect. There was no peep hole so she'd have to open the door. The door opened wide and Ella's smile instantly dropped. Kelly opened his mouth to speak but he looked over her head and saw a tall man standing in her living room, a beer in his hand. His temper shot up, fire raced through his veins.

"Who the hell is that?" he pointed as he took a step inside her house. Ella planted a firm hand on the middle of his chest and shoved backward.

"Oh no!" she said pushing him into the hallway. She followed and closed the door behind them.

"What the hell are you doing here Kelly?" she asked.

"I came to talk to you, explain myself, ask for forgiveness, but I guess I'm a little too late for the boyfriend auditions." He said waving his hand. Ella scowled and shoved her finger in his face.

"Don't you dare put this on me. I'm going out to dinner with a friend; I'm not sitting in a bar, drunk off my ass, making out with some slutty blonde, who has god knows what." She said. Kelly saw the fire in her eyes and he wanted so much to kiss her. That was why he had fallen for her to begin with, she stood up to him and fought back, she was tough, and he loved that. Wait, he loved that, no surely not, no, he didn't love her, he loved who she was, but wait, did that mean he also loved her?

"Ella, I'm so sorry. Please understand how sorry I am. I was drunk, and I know that's no excuse, but I am so sorry Ella. I can't explain to you why I did it, I can't give you a good reason, all I can say is that I made a mistake, and if you give me a second chance I swear it will never happen again." He begged. Ella looked into his blue eyes and she literally felt her resolve crumbling. She adored Kelly, he was honest and she could tell he meant every word. But she'd been hurt, hurt badly, and she needed time, just a few more days to get her shit together. He could do with a few more days of missing her as well.

"I need a few more days Kelly. Just give me some time, ok." She said slowly.

"Ella I can't stand here and let you go out with some other guy." He said shaking his head.

"I know it sucks Kelly, but I'm going to go out with John, and you're going to give me a few days. Go home, go to work, and I'll call you in a few days." She said. Kelly nodded slowly and turned away.

"I'll see you soon." She said.

"Yeah, soon." He said as he walked out the door. Ella sighed and leaned back against her door. She was happy she got to see him. She just needed time, time to get her thoughts together.

* * *

Ella grabbed up the patient file as she walked into the small bay.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Dennison." She said to the parents of the small child on the bed.

"I see they've gotten your IV started." She smiled as she walked past the parents and to the bedside of the little girl. She kind of resembled Mary and it made Ella feel bad for her.

"Ok guys, so it looks like you have the flu. We're going to get you started on some antibiotics, and we're going to keep you for a few days to make sure you get a lot better ok?" she smiled down at her.

"Are they going to stick me again?" she asked slowly. Ella smiled and slipped her hand into the girl's.

"No, and that is a promise." She said. The parent's smiled up at her and she turned to them.

"I won't let them stick her anymore. You have my word." She said extending her hand.

"Thank you Dr." the father said.

"Of course. Give me about twenty minutes and they'll move her up to a room." she said. Ella left the room and passed the file to a nurse.

"See if 3rd floor has an opening, if they do move her there, if not try 4th. Also tell any charge nurse to take blood from the existing IV port. No more sticking needles in her ok?" she asked.

"Yes ma'am." She said.

"Make sure they know that is a strict order." She said. The nurse nodded and turned into the room as Ella headed to the nurse's desk.

"Any new ones?" she asked.

"No ma'am, not at the moment." She said.

"Good. I'll be back in twenty." She said. The nurse nodded and Ella turned toward her office.

* * *

"Engine 51, Truck 81, Squad 3, Ambulance 61, Battalion 25." The intercom buzzed loudly. Kelly jumped up and jerked on his gear as he raced toward the truck. He climbed in and the trucks sped off, their sirens blaring.

"Going to a bad neighborhood guys, be prepared." The Chief called over their radios. Kelly looked at his guys and made sure they'd all heard the announcement as well. The trucks pulled up at a large house fire. People were scrambling around on the street, pulling their kids away from the large burning house.

"Ok guys, it doesn't look stable, so be careful." He said as the climbed from the truck. They all nodded and secured their equipment.

"Got your back Severide." Casey called as they hurried toward the building. Kelly turned and slammed his boot into the door, it slammed opened and they rushed in. The windows were venting the place as they rushed up the stairs. Only to find a long hallway.

"Search!" Kelly called out. He ran down the hallway and into the last room, working his way back.

"Clear!" he called as he moved into the next room. There were two men huddled around the window, throwing stuff from their pockets into the fire building around them.

"Hey guys! Let's go!" he yelled. They whipped around on him, and he froze. Two guns were staring him right in the face. One pointed at his head, the other at his chest.

"Look, I'm not a cop, I don't care what you're doing here. I just need you two out." He said stepping to the side. Their guns stayed aimed at him and they didn't move. Kelly panicked, the fire was raging around them and his guys were coming down the hallway.

"Look, my men are coming, soon you're going to have a bigger problem than me, so I suggest you put those damn guns up and follow me out." He said. They looked at each other briefly and Kelly took his chance, he leapt forward and knocked the gun out of the first guy's hand. He grabbed the second gun and moved to rip it out of his hand but the man pulled the trigger.


	14. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

"Hey Ella, I'm heading out for the day. Dr. Davis will be here in a few hours to relieve you." Dr. Nichols said coming in her office. She nodded and stood up from her desk.

"See you tomorrow." He said. Ella waved as he left as fast as he could. She understood, his quickness. Dr. Nichols wasn't as happy with his job was Ella was. She loved her job. She perched on her desk and flipped through a large file on her most recent patient. The intercom went off and she stood up.

"Dr. Dennison to the ER." She said. Ella tossed the file on her desk and rushed out of her office and into the ER. She hurried to the ambulance doors and watched slowly as Ambulance 61 backed up. She was happy that she got a patient and got a chance to see Shay and Dawson. The doors opened wide and all she could see were tear stained faces as the two women jumped down and pulled out the gurney quickly. Ella jumped into action.

"Male, early thirties, GSW to the chest, BP 70 over 50!" Shay called as she rushed the gurney to Ella. Ella grabbed the edges of the gurney and looked down at her patient. Her heart leapt to her throat and she gasped.

"Kelly." She choked on the name as she looked down at the bloody, dirty face.

"Ella, please, you can do this, come on, help him." Shay said grabbing her hands. Ella looked down at the bloody hand on hers and she pursed her lips as she fought back tears.

"I'll take care of him." she said pulling the gurney into bay 2.

"Get me supplies right now, call the surgeon just in case." She called. Shay and Dawson stood outside as Ella jerked the curtains closed. She turned toward Kelly and pulled on her gloves as a nurse cut away his clothes. Her heart was racing in her chest, she wanted to cry and be a worried loved one for once, but no, she had to work on a man she was quickly falling for, she had to save his life.

* * *

Everyone was pacing around the waiting room, all their minds and prayers on their fallen Lieutenant in the ER. Shay rushed into the hospital and looked worriedly at them.

"Any word?" she asked. They shook their heads slowly and looked toward the Emergency Room doors.

"What even happened?" Shay asked as she sat down in the nearest chair.

"We were clearing rooms, don't know what happened, but we heard a gunshot and we rushed to the room. Two guys were standing over Kelly, their guns on the floor, they surrendered immediately, not even realizing what they had done. Hadley and I got Kelly out while the others got the boys out." Casey said. Shay nodded and dropped her head in her hands.

"Was Ella in there?" the Chief asked. Shay and Dawson both nodded.

"Wait, is Ella the girl that brought the cakes to the station?" Herrmann asked. Shay nodded and looked up.

"She's right below the head doctor here. She and Kelly have also been seeing each other for a while now." Shay said.

"How'd she look when she saw him?" the Chief asked.

"Distraught, scared, panicked, confused, on the brink of tears." Shay said.

"Do you think she can do it?" he asked. Shay looked up and nodded quickly.

"Of course she can. She's smart, level headed, and she loves her job, I know she can do it." Shay said as more tears came to her eyes.

"Hey, hey, it's going to be ok. He's going to make it through." The Chief said.

* * *

Ella finished everything she could do and stepped back, she popped her gloves off and threw them into the trash. A shudder ran threw her body as a nurse rushed around, cleaning all the bloody bandages and tools. Kelly was out, dead to the world, as they grabbed the gurney and rushed him down the hallway to the surgery suite. Her hands started shaking and she quickly tucked them in her pockets.

"Dr. Dennison?" John asked coming up beside her. She jumped and looked up at him with wide innocent eyes. She was scared out of her mind. She'd never done work like this on someone she knew. In all honesty she should have never been in the room with him since she knew him, but she was the only Dr on staff right now and she didn't trust anyone else with him. Her hands continued to shake in the pockets of her bloody scrubs as she turned to John.

"When he comes out I want him taken to the 5th floor. I want his vitals checked every thirty minutes for the first day. I want Dr. Mixon with him. I want you to keep your eyes on him John, make sure he is settled in up there and everything is perfect." She said.

"Ella what if he doesn't come out?" John asked trailing off.

"Don't you dare say that, just do as you're told damn it." Ella said grinding her teeth. He stared at her shocked before he nodded quickly.

"I'm um…I'm sorry, just please." She said slowly. He nodded again and left the room to call up to the 5th floor. Ella's whole body was shaking as she watched them wheel him into the surgery suite. The surgeon was already in there, prepping. Kelly was stable for now, but if they didn't get that bleed in his heart stopped, then she just didn't know.

She quickly turned and rushed to the waiting room, she turned and hurried down the hallway. She knew his friends were waiting there and she owed it to them to tell them everything. She tried to take deep breaths and get her shaking hands under control as she pushed through the doors. All their heads came up simultaneously and they stood as soon as they saw her.

"Ella." Shay said jumping up. They all rushed towards her and suddenly she was overwhelmed again. Tears welled in her eyes and her hands started shaking again.

"What's wrong, what's wrong?" Shay asked as she saw the tears. Ella quickly wiped them away and shook her head.

"I'm sorry, it's ok, he's stable right now. The bullet nicked the bottom of his heart, it didn't do a lot of damage but it did enough. That is where all the blood was coming from. I called the surgeon, removed the bullet, and stabilized him. He's in surgery right now. Our surgeon is very capable and he's wonderful at what he does. He's not out of the woods yet, but we're close." Ella said. She watched as they all stared at her and nodded. They gave each other calming pats on the backs, but Ella could see in their faces that they were terrified for him, much like she was.

"Dr. Dennison, thank you." The Chief said extending his hand. Ella forced her hand to control itself as she took the chief's hand.

"It's Ella." She said softly.

"Ella." He nodded. Shay was next, she grabbed Ella's hands and squeezed them.

"Ella, you're shaking." She said quickly. Ella took a deep breath and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm just tired." She said again.

"It's ok to be scared Ella. God knows I'm terrified. But you did it, you got him stable Ella and he made it to surgery because of you." Shay said wrapping her arms around her and holding her tightly. Ella lost it then, tears flowed freely as she clutched Shay's shoulders. She hadn't been able to shed a tear through the entire process, but now she could be a worried loved one, she could stand on the outside and look in, and she could cry for the man that she was falling for.

"I know, I know." Shay whispered as she stroked her back. Ella didn't even care that the others were staring at her, she was too overcome with emotion. Finally she leaned back and wiped at her eyes quickly.

"I'm sorry, sorry." She said shaking her head.

"No, it's fine. I'm sorry you had to do that. Thank you so much again Ella." The chief said walking up to her. She nodded and he pulled her into a hug. The large man was warm and comfortable and she was happy that he appreciated her.

"It's my job. Anyway, he's in surgery now, I'm going to go down and watch, as soon as I know something I will let you all know. There is a breakroom right down the hall there and there should be coffee and snacks. If you need anything Patrice is right there," Ella said pointing, "and just tell her to page me." she said. They all nodded along with her words.

"I'll see you all shortly." She said.

"Thanks again Ella." Shay said. Ella smiled and nodded as she headed back into the ER. She went down the hall as fast as her feet would carry her and she moved into the surgery suite. She went to the prepping area where the surgeon scrubbed in, there was a large glass window there where she could see right into the room. She could hardly see anything because Kelly was flat on his back. She could see the green sheets that kept everything clean, as well as the spot where everything was going on. The surgeon's face was completely serious as he moved slowly and efficiently. Ella leaned on the wall and crossed her arms, watching every movement, every breath.

* * *

Casey was sitting patiently in the waiting room, it had been almost three hours since Ella had come out last to tell them he was going into surgery. Casey was more worried about his fellow Lieutenant now than he'd ever been. Severide was always doing something crazy, always a hot head, always the first to go in and the last to come out, but he hadn't caused this, someone had shot him and now he was under the knife, he'd nearly died on the way here according to Shay and Dawson, and all they could do was thank God for Ella. She'd saved his life back there, he wasn't sure if she realized that or not, but she'd done a phenomenal job. Severide was one lucky guy. Most of the others thought so anyway, mostly because he got as much as he wanted as often as he wanted it, but this girl was a catch. She wasn't just some other one night stand, she was the real thing, and Casey hoped he realized that. He looked up as the door opened and Ella came through again. She was in the same scrubs as before, there were still small drops of blood here and there. Casey looked her over, her black hair was pulled high atop her head in a loose bun, her pretty green eyes were red rimmed from some tears she'd shed, and she still looked completely shattered. He couldn't imagine the worry and pressure that had been on her shoulders while she'd been working on him. He stood up alongside the other men as she came towards them.

"Hey, he's out, and he's great. Everything went as planned, the nick is closed, and he is going to be fine. He needs to stay off his feet for about three weeks though, and even when he goes back he needs to take it easy for another two weeks. He's ok though." She said. A huge smile broke across Casey's face as well as everyone else's. They all shook hands and slapped each other on the backs as they laughed and cheered. Casey watched as Shay, Dawson, and The Chief thanked Ella and shook her hand. He stepped forward and stretched his hand out.

"Thank you Ella." He said. She smiled and took his hand.

"Of course." She said.

"You all can go up as soon as he's settled. I'll have Patrice let you know when he's settled and I'll meet you all up there." she said. They all nodded as she turned and left.

"Great girl." The Chief said. Casey and Shay nodded in agreement.

* * *

The first thing Kelly felt was pain. An aching white hot pain in his chest and he wanted to cry out. His eyes peeled open as he remembered what had happened. He'd been shot, that was all he remembered. He looked up at the white ceiling and instantly smelled bleach and Lysol. He was in the hospital. His body creaked as he turned his head to the side and saw Shay there, she was in the chair, her feet propped up, reading a magazine.

"Shay." He croaked. Her head shot up and she looked right at him.

"You're awake." She jumped up.

"Are you in any pain, do you need me to get the nurse?" she asked quickly as she rushed to his side.

"Little pain." He said slowly.

"Ok hold on." She said pressing the button. A few moments later a nurse came in and she spoke quickly as she turned his morphine up.

"How are we feeling Mr. Severide?" she asked.

"Like shit, but I'll survive." He said.

"Good. I'll make sure your Dr. comes around in just a few minutes." She said as she left the room.

"Can I sit up?" he asked looking over at Shay. She nodded and pressed the up arrow, lifting his bed up some more. It hurt, and his chest cried out, but he dealt with it because he wanted to sit up.

"Where is everyone?" he asked as he rubbed his hand across his face.

"Visiting hours ended at 9, they waited around for you to wake up but when the clock hit 9 the nurse kept reminding them that visiting hours were over so everyone went home." she said.

"What time is it?" he asked.

"Nearly 11 pm." She said.

"So I guess I'm going to be out for a while." He said.

"Ella says about three weeks." Shay said. His ears perked up immediately at the mention of her name.

"Ella?" he asked.

"Yeah, she was the Dr on call when we brought you in." Shay said.

"She fixed me?" Kelly asked.

"She saved your life. You were losing blood fast and Dawson and I couldn't stop it, she got in there and did her thing." Shay smiled.

"She's good." He said.

"I thought she was going to kill over at first poor thing." Shay said.

"What do you mean?" Kelly asked.

"When she saw you, she froze, she was scared out of her mind, but she snapped out of it for you and got to work. After everything was done she came to see us to let us know you were ok. Kelly I thought she was going to pass out right there. When she walked out she was so pale and her eyes were incredibly wide and desperate. She told us everything and I took her hands to thank her and she was shaking so bad. I'd never felt someone shake that way. But when I hugged her she broke down and bawled. She cried like I had cried on the way to the hospital. I think once she was out of there she just felt like someone who was there for you, not your doctor, and all her emotions came out." Shay said. Kelly stared at her as she spoke and he tried to picture his strong confident Ella like that, scared, and trembling. It wasn't a pretty sight, he didn't like that he'd caused her so much fear.

"I need to see her." he said.

"She just left about fifteen minutes ago, went home to change, said she'd be right back." Shay said.

"Oh, ok, good." He said.

"She really cares about you Kel. She's a great girl." Shay smiled. Kelly nodded and looked down at his hands.

"Yeah, she's pretty amazing." He said.


	15. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Kelly scrolled through his phone and messages as he waited for Ella to return. Several messages from him to Ella, pleading with her to talk to him, but she'd responded again and again with no. He had several messages from the men, wishing him well, and telling him they'd be by tomorrow. Shay had left a few minutes ago to go get some food while he was stuck eating this sucky hospital food. A knock on the door made him look up as Ella came into his room. She was dressed very casually, but she was still breathtaking. Her black hair up in a loose, messy bun, and she was wearing a black leather jacket, a blue t-shirt, jeans, and tennis shoes. Her beautiful green eyes were red rimmed and Kelly knew she'd been crying.

"You're up." she smiled wider than he'd ever seen.

"Yeah." He said nodding. She came forward quickly and slid onto the bed, curling her leg under her and sitting in front of him.

"How are you feeling? Is your wound hurting really bad? Any unusual pain around the area?" she asked. He smiled at her and shook his head.

"I'm fine El. Relax." He said

"I just…wow. This is why I never go see my patients after they leave me." she said as she fought back tears.

"I'm not just a patient though El." He said. She swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded.

"Yeah I know. I just can't believe you're up and fine after all that." she said shaking her head, she dropped her eyes to the bed below and Kelly saw a single tear fall onto the bed. She wiped it away and pretended no one had seen it, but Kelly had.

"Hey, come on, don't do that." he said slipping his hand under her chin and lifting her head. She looked up at him and shook her head, closing her eyes.

"Do you realize I've been here six months, and in those six months you've been in here twice? How can a person do so much good and visit the hospital as much as you?" she asked.

"Open your eyes." he said. Her eyes opened and she looked up at him.

"I have a dangerous job Ella. But it's worth it. I'm fine, I'm safe, and I'm alive. Because of you." He said slowly. Ella smirked and shook her head as his hand moved from her chin.

"Are we completely stupid for trying to have a relationship?" she asked. His eyes widened and he shook his head.

"No, we're not. We're good together El." He said. She pursed her lips and nodded.

"We are, but I swear to god Kelly if you ever cheat on me again I'll cut it off." She said looking down. He chuckled lightly and ignored the pain in his chest.

"I won't Ella." He said.

"You're damn right." She said leaning forward and capturing his lips. Their tongues intertwined and he held her neck while she held his face. When they pulled apart she leaned her forehead against his and she shook her head.

"What happened Kelly?" she asked. He relaxed back against the pillow.

"It was a house fire in a bad neighborhood. We went in, Casey was at my back. We started clearing rooms and I ran in and there were two young boys in there emptying their pockets into the fire. I guess it was drugs or something. I called out to them and they turned on me, both had guns. I told them that I didn't care what they were doing, I wasn't a cop, I just needed them to come with me out of the house. They didn't move and I noticed the fire closing in around us and Casey was coming down the hallway, when they looked at each other I took my chance, I knocked one's gun away and grabbed the other, and he pulled the trigger. All I remember after that is falling down." he said. Ella lifted her hand and ran her fingertips over his open palm.

"I can't believe they shot you." She said shaking her head again.

"I don't think he even realized what he was doing. Those boys couldn't have been over 16. I'm going to go down to the police station when I get out of here and tell them that I don't want them to pursue charges on them for attempted murder. I think they should be prosecuted for the drugs, but if they press attempted murder, then those kids lives would be ruined, I can't do that to them, it was an accident." He said.

"They made a mistake, god knows we've all made them." she said nodding along with his words.

"So Doc, give me the run down on my injuries." He said.

"Ok, well the bullet hit the bottom of your heart, not bad, just a small nick, but big enough to make you bleed out. After I stabilized you I handed you over t the surgeon and he fixed you right up. You're expected to make a full recovery, but you need to stay off your feet for at least three weeks, and then take it easy for two more." She said.

"I'm proud of you Ella." He said. She smiled and slid her hand into his.

"Why?" she asked.

"Because you ignored your emotions and did what you had to do." He said.

"It's our job Kelly." She said.

"Our job?" he asked.

"You do it every day too Kel, you ignore your emotions and go into burning buildings, no matter the person, you try your hardest to save them, just like me." she said. He nodded and leaned his head back. He didn't want to be so tired, but he was, he was completely worn down.

"You're tired, you need your rest. I'm going to go." she said standing. He caught her hand and stopped her from standing all the way.

"Stay the night?" he asked. Ella smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, I'll stay." She said.

* * *

Shay came back with a full stomach and she pushed the door open. The room was completely dark and when her eyes adjusted she saw Kelly, sleeping soundly in the bed, and Ella stretched out on the sofa, sleeping as well. Shay smiled and tiptoed back out. She'd come back in the morning. She was glad they'd made up. Shay knew how much Kelly cared for Ella, she could tell every time he looked at her or talked about her. Who could blame him though? She was beautiful, smart, funny, and down to earth. Shay could say the same for Kelly though, if she wasn't strictly on the girl squad, she might have had a one night stand or two with Kelly. But if Shay could pick a girl out for Kelly, it would be Ella, over and over again.

* * *

Ella was up promptly at 7 am when the doctors were supposed to make their rounds. She had to go home and change before work at 9. She stood off the couch and stretched her back and arms.

"I'm jealous." Kelly said from the bed. Ella smiled as he blinked his clear blue eyes at her.

"Why?" she asked.

"Because I'd love to stretch right now." He said.

"I'm sure they'll get you up and walk you around today. You should only be in here for the remainder of the week. As long as you show signs of healing and no infection then they will let you go." she said.

"Good, I don't like being cooped up." he said. Ella grabbed her jacket and purse.

"I have to run and get ready for work. I text Shay and she said everyone would come up as soon as shift was over. She also said she left the key on the door jamb so I could come get you some clothes and hygiene products." Ella said.

"You don't have to do that." he said.

"Oh I know, but I want to." She said.

"I'll be back soon." She said leaning over the bed. He leaned forward slightly and gave her a peck on the lips.

"See you then." He said. Ella nodded and left the room. Kelly watched the sway of her hips as she left the room, and he wondered if he could have sex during his healing time. The doctor had told him to stay off his feet, and if he was in the bed, then he'd be off his feet.

* * *

Ella entered his loft and slipped the key into her pocket. Shay had asked her to return it to the hospital after she was done. Ella climbed the stairs quickly and opened his closet. She looked around and finally spotted a medium sized duffle bag. She tossed it on the bed and closed his closet. Ella pulled his drawer open and tossed four t-shirts inside the bag, she grabbed two pairs of boxers, and two pairs of sweats, she slid them into the bag. She closed the drawers and turned toward the bathroom.

"Please be like most men, please." She said as she walked into the bathroom.

"Thank God." She said to herself as she spotted the traveling case for his products. She grabbed it and unzipped it, a razor, soap, and a small thing of toothpaste were already inside. She grabbed his toothbrush and shampoo and slid them inside. She zipped it up and turned to leave the bathroom when another small travel pouch caught her eye. She raised her eyebrows thinking maybe he had more stuff. She grabbed it and unzipped it quickly. Her hands stopped moving as she looked inside the case. A pack of pills stared back at her. Her eyes widened as she lifted the pack and read them over.

"Oh no." she said under her breath. Pain killers, what the hell was he doing with pain killers? These weren't prescription though, these were the kind of painkillers that drug reps carried with them. Not obtained the legal way if she had her guess. Half the pack was already gone and her heart fluttered. Was Kelly addicted to pain pills? She ground her teeth and zipped the case back up. She tucked it under her arm and stomped back into the room. Ella tossed both travel pouches into the duffle and zipped it. She threw the bag over her shoulder as she hurried back down the stairs and out the front door. She'd get to the bottom of this.

* * *

Ella pushed the door open to Kelly's room before her shift as she immediately noticed no one was here. He looked up and smiled at her as she sat his duffle down on the chair.

"Clothes for a few days. Boxers and sweats, I figured you'd be more comfy in your clothes than that gown. I got all your bathroom stuff, however you should ask your doctor before you go to shower." She said. Kelly looked at her and nodded.

"What's wrong?" he asked. Ella must have been showing more emotion on her face than she thought.

"We need to talk." She said.

"Ok." He said slowly. Ella unzipped the duffle and pulled out the small pouch. His eyes instantly widened.

"What is this Kelly?" she asked opening the pouch to reveal the pills. He stared down at them and then looked up at her.

"I can guarantee it isn't what you think." He said.

"You don't have a clue what I'm thinking Kelly. Please tell me you're not addicted to pain killers?" she said dropping onto the bed in front of him.

"God no, no I'm not. At least I don't think, look, I have an injury. The doctor says it kind of amounts to a broken neck. My shoulder kills me…a lot. It feels like it's on fire sometimes, and I take those pills to help with the pain so I can do my job." He said. Ella's eyes widened at the mention of his injury.

"What about surgery?" she asked quickly.

"I'd be out for a year Ella and even then there is no guarantee I'll ever return to duty." He said. Ella watched his face as he spoke about his injury. She knew how much he loved his job, she knew how she would feel if someone told her that she had to sit on the sidelines for a year, and then even if she did return to work she might not ever be up to par again.

"I'm so sorry." She said quickly. "But Kelly this is not a game. You have to stop taking these. They'll kill your kidneys and then you'll be worse off." She said.

"I know Ella, I've heard it all." He said.

"Then why do you keep doing it?" she asked.

"Because I can't lose my job Ella, it's my life." He said.

"But this is your health." She said.

"What is this rag on Kelly day? Lay off." He said leaning away from her.

"No, no I didn't mean it like that. I know how much you love your job Kelly. But you can't keep doing this to yourself." She said.

"I said lay off Ella. Do you want me to start laying it on you?" he asked turning toward her. Ella raised her eyebrows, what the hell was his deal. Maybe she was being a little harsh, but still.

"What the hell are you talking about?" she asked.

"I'm talking about the fact that you wince every time someone grabs you. I'm talking about the fact that you clearly adore your home and your family, but you left there, you claim it was for a better job, but I don't believe you Ella, I believe you're running." He said menacingly. Ella slid back and frowned, he'd never acted this way toward her. She wasn't comfortable talking about that.

"Now you're not comfortable. Not a good feeling huh?" he asked. Ella glared at him.

"Stop it Kelly." She said shaking her head.

"Tell me Ella, tell me what you're running from." he said.

Kelly felt like shit as she looked up at him with hurt green eyes. He shouldn't be so harsh on her, she was harsh out of concern, he was harsh because he was trying to get back at her. He reached out to take her hands but she pulled back.

"I'm sorry Ella, I don't mean it. I don't like when people make me look in the mirror. I'm sorry." He said again. Ella pursed her lips and nodded.

"I'm sorry too, I don't like looking in the mirror either, but you're right. I need to tell you this." she said. He looked at her and shook his head.

"You don't have to." He said.

"I want to." She said.

"I met this guy named Bennet in high school. We adored each other, we got married and moved in together. Shortly after I realized we just weren't compatible. So we agreed on a divorce and he left. After the divorce he lost his job and house, we were still on good terms so I offered to let him move in until he could get on his feet. I was working, he wasn't, he got depressed and started drinking." She said. Kelly watched her face move from emotion to emotion as she told the story. He was grinding his teeth at the thought of her with another man, but he quickly made himself stop as she continued.

"He was fine at first, just a few drinks here and there, but then it became all day every day. He'd never hurt me before, but I got annoyed with him one night and yelled at him. He got up and grabbed me, he slapped me hard, it was only ever once or twice. He never bruised my face and I just kind of blamed myself for challenging him when he was drunk." She said. Kelly's teeth were grinding again, he'd hit her, he'd put his hands on her and hit her. His anger was rising slowly as she continued.

"One night I came home from work and I said something about his beer bottles. He grabbed me and this time wasn't like the other times I was tired of it. I threatened to call the police and he knocked the phone out of my hand, he tried to touch me and I wasn't going to let him, so I hit him, he hit back. I grabbed for my cell phone but he just hit me again, and kicked me. He stepped back to catch his breath so I grabbed my phone, but when his hand wrapped in my hair I didn't know what to do except defend myself. I grabbed this ceramic soap dish that my mom bought me and I swung around and hit him with it. It knocked him out cold and I called the police. After that I decided I had to leave. He wouldn't stay in jail long, those types never do. So the head of my department found me this job and I moved here." she said. Kelly was appalled, he'd met plenty of women who were victims of domestic violence, but he'd never been this close to one, and he didn't know how to comfort her.

"That son of a bitch." He said shaking his head, "I'm sorry Ella." He said quickly. She smiled and took his hands.

"I'm not broken Kelly. I'll always be me, Bennet hitting me could never change that. I'm strong Kelly and I know you are too. We can do this together ok. I'll help you and you can help me." she said. He nodded slowly and pulled her to him.

"We'll be ok." He said. Ella nodded and pressed her mouth to his. Fire soared through her veins as she opened her mouth to him. He held her close, his hands stroking her jaw as they pulled apart.

"Yeah, we will." She said.


	16. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Ella hurried into her office and grabbed her purse, her shift was over and she wanted to go see Kelly. Her phone rang loudly though and a brief thought of ignoring it and going on about her business ran through her mind, but she gave in and lifted it.

"Dr. Dennison." She said.

"Ella, thank god you answered!" her sister said quickly.

"Becca, what's up?" Ella asked holding the phone between her shoulder and head as she stuffed a file into her case.

"Ok so look. You know how obsessive I am with planning and organizing everything, right?" she asked. Ella rolled her eyes and zipped her case.

"Yeah Becca, I know." she said.

"Well unfortunately I'm not so organized and planned when it comes to birth control." She said softly. Ella's eyes widened.

"Becca are you?" she asked quickly.

"I'm pregnant Ella." She barely whispered.

"Oh shit." Ella said as she dropped into her seat.

"Ella I need help." Becca said.

"Ok um…calm down, we can figure this out. Does daddy know?" Ella asked.

"God no, Ella he'd kill Tommy!" she said. Ella took a deep steadying breath. She was right, their father was a little more than protective. He loved his girls, and if he found out Tommy had slept with Becca and gotten her pregnant before they married, he'd go after him. Ella knew that, so did Becca.

"Ok alright, I have an idea. How far along are you?" she asked.

"The doctor said just at one month." Becca said.

"Alright this is what you do. You plan the wedding and you have it at the very beginning of next month. You'll only be two months along then, not even showing, you and Tommy can go on your honey moon, a month after you return, announce you're pregnant. No one will ever think differently if you deliver a few months early. No biggie, women do it all the time." Ella said.

"Yeah great plan Ella, only one problem, I can't plan a whole wedding in one month and have it turn out the way I want. I only want one of these El, and I want to do it right." She said. Ella could hear the tears in her sister's voice and she sighed and laid her head back on the chair.

"I'll help." Ella said.

"How are you going to help all the way in Chicago Ell!?" she wailed and Ella pulled the phone away from her ear for a minute.

"I can take the month off until after the wedding day. I'll come home and help." She said.

"Oh Ella, oh thank you, I love you so much. When can I expect you?" she asked.

"Sunday." Ella said.

"Great! I'll tell mom!" she said. Before Ella could protest her sister hung up the phone. Ella slammed the phone down and dropped her head onto the table.

"Damn it!" she yelled. What was she going to do? She wanted to stay with Kelly and make sure he would be ok. She could ask him to come with her.

"Are you insane Ella?" she asked herself. He'd never go for that. They'd been together less than four months and she was asking him to come to Vernon, Alabama with her for a month to meet her family. Besides, she'd be busy helping Becca plan her wedding, which meant he'd be left alone with her parents, grandparents, and brother. That wasn't exactly a good thing. While she adored her family, they could be a bit much. Then again, he had to be off work for a month anyway, and take it easy for two weeks. He might want to come with her, just to have something to do. She shook her head as she got out of her chair, grabbed her purse and case, and left quickly. She rode the elevator up to the fifth floor and when she rounded the corner she spotted a uniformed officer milling around out in the hallway next to Kelly's room. She raised an eyebrow and hurried toward his door. The officer stuck his arm out and stopped her in her tracks when she got to the door.

"Sorry ma'am, no visitors right now." He said. Ella raised both her eyebrows and lifted her badge.

"I'm his doctor." She glared. He coughed and nodded.

"Sorry, go ahead." He said. Ella nodded and pushed open the door.

"It was my fault I said!" Kelly yelled followed by a grunt of pain. Ella moved quickly into the room and immediately spotted another man who was not uniformed but clearly had a badge and gun on his side. Kelly was clutching his chest, his face twisted in pain. Her heart lurched to her throat and she thought she might throw up.

"Kelly." Ella said in a high pitched squeak. She rushed to his side and moved his hands as he looked up through bleary eyes at her.

"I'm fine." He said roughly.

"Shut up." she hissed as she moved his shirt out of the way and quickly pulled the edges of his bandage from his skin. The stitches were still intact, which meant the inside was fine as well. However they were red rimmed and Ella knew that meant he'd been stressing them. She returned the bandages and his shirt and she wheeled around on the man. Her temper flared, and even though this man was a cop, Kelly was hers to protect while he was injured and she'd be damned if she let this man cause him anymore harm.

"I don't know who you are and I really don't care, all I know is that you are causing him stress which is in turn causing him pain, so I suggest you take your happy ass right out of here before I call security and have them kick you out." She said waving her finger in his face.

"Who the hell are you?" he asked.

"I'm Dr. Ella Dennison, who the hell are you?" she glared.

"Ella." Kelly said gently. She turned an angry glare toward him but her face instantly softened when she saw his pained expression. She turned to the morphine pump along his bedside and she hit the button to give him a small dose.  
"It'll kick in in just a minute." She said as the machine buzzed and administered the dose.

"I'm Detective Bradley, I'm the person who is in charge of finding out exactly what happened inside that room." he said. Ella looked over her shoulder at Kelly and she pursed her lips.

"Well, what did he tell you?" she asked.

"Ma'am I don't think this is your business." He said.

"I told him that the kid only pulled the gun because he couldn't clearly make out who I was because of the smoke and he could barely hear me because of the fire, I was the same when I was in there. I reached out and grabbed the gun roughly, and I accidently hit the kid's hand and the gun when off. It was my fault and an accident. No one needs to go to jail over that." he said. The detective looked back and forth between the two of them and Ella nodded.

"He's not lying. He told me the same thing this morning when I asked what had happened." She said. He frowned and nodded.

"Alright, if that's what you say, then I guess I'll have to take your word for it. Have a good night Lieutenant and I hope you get out of here soon." He said. Kelly nodded as the detective left. Ella waited until the door was closed before she turned to him.

"What is wrong with you getting all worked up?" she asked as she put her hands on her hips. Kelly chuckled and looked at her.

"Me getting worked up? If I'm not mistaken you just told one of the lead detectives in Chicago, and I quote, take your happy ass right out of here before I call security and have them kick you out." He said.

"I know what I said Severide." She smirked.

"Hush and sit down." he said leaning back. Ella sat down in front of him and smirked as she nibbled her bottom lip. She reached out and ran her fingertips across his forearm softly. She watched as he closed his eyes a little bit.

"You ok?" he asked peeking at her through slightly heavy eyelids.

"I'm fine, you rest." She said.

"Well if you'd stop trying to put me to sleep I could actually talk to you." He said pulling his arm away a little. Ella huffed and nodded.

"Alright fine. My sister called me just a few minutes ago. She and her boyfriend got engaged two months ago, and she just found out she's pregnant." Ella said.

"And?" Kelly asked raising an eyebrow.

"It's not really a big deal to me or her, but to my dad and mom. Holy crap, my mom would shit a brick, and my dad would kill Tommy, her fiancé." Ella said.

"What would your dad do to me if he knew what we'd done in your office?" he asked with a slight twinkle in his eyes.

"He'd shoot you again, and he's a pretty decent shot." She smirked. He laughed briefly and nodded.

"Well that can't be what's bothering you, come on, tell me." he said. Ella puckered her lips and nodded.

"In order to keep this hidden from our dad and mom, I told her to have the wedding at the beginning of next month. Then she had a conniption and said she couldn't possibly plan a wedding in a little less than a month. So I offered to help, but then she screamed and asked me how in the world I'd help all the way in Chicago. So…I offered to come home for the month and help her." she said looking down. She looked back up and noticed Kelly was looking at her oddly and his face was switching between several emotions, sad, worried, anger, back to sad. She looked at him and took his hand, beginning to rub small circles on the top of it.

"Now tell me what's wrong with you." She asked.

"I'm just not sure it's a good idea for you to go back home where your ex husband is." He said. Ella paused the movement of her hand on top of his and she looked at him. She hadn't really even considered Bennet in this.

"Well I can't really back out Kelly, I said I'd come. If I back out my sister would have a panic attack. She's the most dramatic person you'll ever meet." Ella said.

"I've never met her." he smirked. Ella swallowed hard and breathed her way through this. Hopefully he wouldn't run for the hills if she asked.

"Do you want to?" she asked. Kelly's eyebrows shot up and Ella back tracked and stuttered something incoherent.

"Are you asking me to come home with you?" he asked. Ella quickly swallowed and nodded.

"Well I mean I was just going to say, you're going to be on leave for a while anyway, and only if you want to, you don't have to." Ella said shaking her head and looking down.

Kelly smiled as he watched Ella fumble through her explanation. He actually was interested in meeting her family. She was the one who'd said they needed to keep it quiet in the first place. Kelly was actually proud that he had a girlfriend, and he wanted to show her off. He was pretty happy that she wanted him to meet her family, he'd never had a girl ask him to meet her family. He watched as she fumbled some more and he chuckled, he loved seeing her like this. She was always so confident and head strong, and when she let down her walls and became vulnerable, he always found himself smiling wider than he ever had.

"I want to come." He said. Ella looked up quickly and a smile broke across her face.

"Really?" she asked.

"Of course, I'd love to meet your family, even your dad, who is a decent shot. When do we leave?" he asked.

"Sunday." She said with a smile. He nodded and wrapped his hand around hers. He gently pulled her towards him and she lifted to her knees as she leaned forward.

"I'm glad you asked." He said.

"Truthfully, I was afraid you'd run and jump out the window to get away from me." she smirked.

"Nah, I'd miss you too much." He said. Ella crinkled her nose and propped her hands on the pillow so that they were face to face.

"You're not so bad yourself." She said as they kissed.


	17. Chapter 16

**Thank you all for continuing to read. I couldn't do it without you!**

**Chapter 16**

"I'm not sitting in that." Kelly said as he glared at the wheelchair. Ella sighed for the umpteen time that day and she pointed at him.

"If you don't sit in it, they won't let you leave, so if I were you I'd plant my ass firmly in this chair and ride out of here." she said. He gave her that oh so sexy smile and she smiled back.

"Please get in the chair Kelly?" she asked.

"That's better." He said. Ella locked the wheels as he eased himself up and turned just enough to plant himself in the chair.

"Ok, we're ready." Ella said to the nurse. Ella grabbed his bags as the nurse wheeled him out of the room. They made their way swiftly down the corridor and into the elevator. Once inside the nurse smiled and looked back and forth between the two.

"How long have you two been married?" she asked. Ella coughed and laughed at the look on Kelly's face.

"Not married." She said shaking her head.

"Oh, I'm sorry. My name is Jackie." She said holding her hand out to Kelly. Ella immediately glared.

"Not married, but dating." She said. Kelly couldn't help his cocky smile as Ella crossed her arms. The doors opened and the slightly embarrassed nurse pushed them out the front doors. Kelly's car was waiting where Ella had parked it, and the nurse wheeled his chair to the passenger door and Ella popped it open. Kelly easily stood and slid into the car with no difficulty.

"It was great to meet you." She smiled. Ella closed the door before Kelly could speak. She offered the girl a tight smile and she walked around and got into the front seat. Kelly was staring at her with an open mouth.

"Did you just close the door in my face?" he asked. Ella knew a red blush was creeping up her neck and she felt awkward. She'd just shown her jealously, a lot, and she didn't like that side of her.

"Sorry. She just irritated me." Ella said. Kelly shook his head and chuckled.

"Ella Ella Ella." He tisked.

"Shut up." she said as she pulled out of the parking lot.

* * *

"We have to go by the firehouse first and grab a leave form from the chief." Ella said as she turned down the road the house was on.

"You know more about my life than me right now." He said. Ella laughed and pulled his car along the curb.

"Be careful." Ella said pointing. He rolled his eyes as he opened the door and slid out. Ella followed closely behind him as they walked up to the firehouse. She wanted to hold his arm to make sure he wouldn't fall, but she knew he wouldn't let her. They stepped into the large open bay. Everyone looked up and suddenly Ella's ears were overwhelmed. They hooped and yelled and cheered as each one shook Kelly's hand and hugged him briefly. Ella stood next to him and watched as each man gave him a pat on the back. She could completely sense the brotherhood, the love, and happiness. The chief emerged with a white form and passed it to Kelly.

"Here we go. Five weeks leave, with pay." He said. Kelly nodded and shook his hand.

"I'm glad you're back on your feet. Also, we have a little something for you Ella." He said waving Mills over. Mills brought out a small circular object and Ella smiled widely when she saw it.

"This is my grandma's caramel cake." Mills said sitting it down in front of them.

"What's this for?" Ella asked.

"You saved our man and we can't thank you enough." Chief Boden said. Ella smiled widely.

"Thanks ya'll." She said.

"Ya'll?" Herrmann chuckled. Ella blushed and shook her head.

"Where are ya'll going?" Shay asked as everyone sort of dispersed.

"Ella's sister is getting married, so we're going to Alabama." Kelly said.

"I'll be back in a minute." Ella said going toward the bathroom.

"So, you're meeting the parents?" Shay asked wiggling her eyebrows.

"Yeah I guess I am." He said.

"How are you feeling about that?" she asked.

"A little nervous, never really met parents before." He said. Shay nodded and slid her hands into her jacket.

"She's worth it." Shay said. Kelly looked over her shoulder to Ella. She'd come from the bathroom and now she was standing in between all the men talking away. He watched as she laughed, her head going back slightly, exposing her lovely neck, he'd like to kiss up and down it right about now. She glanced over at him and crinkled her nose and smiled. He smirked and nodded as he returned his eyes to Shay.

"Yeah, I think so." He said.

* * *

"I'm going to miss my car." Ella said as they walked down the boarding way.

"You'll survive without it." Kelly said.

"I don't like planes." She said slowing down. Kelly put his hand on her back and kept pushing her forward.

"Have you ever even been on a plane?" he asked.

"I don't like them, thus I've never been on one." She said.

"How do you know you don't like it if you don't try it?" he asked as they approached the flight attendants. Kelly handed over their tickets as he watched Ella's eyes dart back and forth.

"Seats J3 and K3. Right that way, enjoy your flight." She smiled and handed them back their tickets. Kelly nodded his thanks and pushed Ella forward. She was barely moving. Kelly sighed and reached down, taking her hand in his, he pulled her forward until they reached their seats. Kelly took her carryon along with his and put them overhead.

"Sit down Ella." He said nodding to her seat by the window.

"Is it too late to drive, I will drive the whole way, you can sleep." She said turning to him.

"Ella, we're not driving almost 12 hours, just sit down, it'll be ok." He said. He gently took her shoulders and pushed her down into her seat. He eased down in his and leaned over her, buckling her seat belt.

"It's going to be fine." He said. Fear and worry were present all over her body. Her eyes were darting back and forth, her hands were shaking just a little, she was stiff and hardly moving.

"We'll be there before you know it." he said. They sat quietly through the basic procedures, and when the plane started to move forward Ella's hands clenched the seat.

"We're going to die Kelly. We're definitely going to die." She said shaking her head. Kelly chuckled and opened his palm to her.

"Give me your hand." he said. Ella looked down apprehensively and finally slipped her hand into his.

"Now close your eyes." he said. Her eyes found his and she watched him for a moment before she finally closed them.

"Now, just breath." He said.

"I am breathing Kelly." She said peeking through one eye.

"Closed." He said again. She huffed and closed her eyes. Kelly waited and watched her breath as the plane took off. He felt it and he was sure she did to, but she kept her eyes closed and she kept her hand inside his.

"Ok, you can open now." He said. Ella's eyes peeled open and she glanced around.

"We're in the air, and safe." He said. Ella dropped back in her seat and took a shaky breathe.

"No more jerking?" she asked.

"Not unless we hit turbulence." He said.

"What, no one said anything about that." Ella said.

"It's just a little jerking." He said.

"Kelly." She whined. He smiled at her and held her hand tightly. She'd been there for him during his time of need, now he could be there for her. Because even though she was stubborn and brave 99% of the time, she was terrified and shaking the other 1% and he wanted to be there for the 1%.

* * *

When the plane landed Ella was the first person out of her seat. Kelly calmly stood and grabbed their bags.

"Kelly, move it." Ella said pointing. He chuckled and gestured for her to walk ahead of him. She hurried along out of the plane as fast as possible without running over anyone. Ella pulled her phone free of her jeans and checked the messages. She glanced back over her shoulder at Kelly as she continued walking out of the plane. She was so happy to finally be off that plane. She turned her phone on and read through her messages. Her mother had text her four different times. The first saying they were dropping a vehicle off for them. The second saying where the vehicle was parked. The third telling her they would leave the keys inside. The fourth saying never mind, daddy said that wasn't a good idea, leaving the keys at the desk. As soon as they came out into the main part of the airport Ella paused and waited for Kelly to come stand next to her.

"Mom said she and dad dropped off a vehicle for us. Keys should be at the desk." She said. She hurried toward the desk and smiled as she approached the lady.

"I'll go get our bags." Kelly said in her ear as he passed her. Ella nodded and turned back to the woman.

"Good afternoon. What can I do for you?" she asked.

"My name is Ella Dennison, my mom should have dropped off keys for me." she said.

"Can I see some ID?" the woman asked. Ella nodded and passed the girl her driver's license. She scanned it and passed it back to Ella.

"Alright, here we go. Have a super day." she smiled and handed her the keys. Ella recognized the keys and she chuckled.

"Thanks." She said as she turned away. Kelly was standing by the baggage claim lifting her large suitcase. Ella chuckled and headed toward him.

"Here, I'll take mine." She said grabbing the handle.

"Got the keys." She said jingling them.

"This is an awfully small airport." He smirked.

"I won't disagree. I think they only have like two planes." She smirked as they exited the airport and into the parking lot.

"There it is." She said. She jerked her suitcase along as they approached the tall, red, ford f1-50 four door. There was mud all along the bottom and it was very dirty, but Ella still smiled. It was her grandpa's truck.

"Wow." Kelly said.

"It's my papaw's." she said unlocking it and opening the backdoor. Kelly paused, in the floorboard of the backseat was a double barrel shotgun, just lying out.

"That his too?" Kelly asked. Ella looked down and smiled.

"Yeah, don't worry, he has a permit." She said rolling her eyes.

"Well get in." she said popping open the door. She climbed in the front seat and he got in next to her. Ella slid the key into the ignition and cranked it. The loud engine roared to life and Ella smiled, she felt comfortable in this truck.

"You know I learned to drive in this truck." She said as they pulled out of the parking lot.

"Really?" he asked. Ella nodded and looked at the large mass of open fields, cows, horses. This was home.

"Yep." She said.

"So where are we exactly?" he asked.

"Columbus, Mississippi, about thirty minutes outside of Vernon. It's a small town also, a good bit larger than Vernon." She said. She watched as Kelly looked at the large open fields and he smirked.

"Have you ever been to the South Kelly?" she asked.

"Nope, never." He said looking back at her.

"I think you'll like it." she smiled and hit the gas.

**A/N: By the way, Columbus, Ms and Vernon, Al are both real places! I grew up in Vernon, Al but Columbus is right next door so I'm always there. Both are small towns. Funny funny. **


	18. Chapter 17

**AHHH! I have been without internet this week, so sorry for my absence, enjoy this chapter!**

**Chapter 17**

Kelly was in awe of it all. The huge spanning fields, the horses, the cows, the dogs that seemed to just run free, it was all just so different, but still so great. His eyes scanned two small bars right as they got near what Ella called the state line.

"What are those?" he asked pointing.

"Ah, that is the Slab House, and that one is Miss Ala, two places you do not want to go, very white trash glory and all that good stuff." She smirked. Kelly kept his eyes on the road as they passed the state line leading them over into Alabama. Ella drove fast down the long road in front of them. Kelly heard a familiar sound and he looked behind them. Sure enough there was a cop behind them, his blue lights on and his siren. He looked at Ella as she slowed down and pulled over. The cop pulled over behind them and Kelly didn't say anything as two cops got out of the car. He looked them over, one was tall and lanky, he looked young, but Kelly could tell by his hair and the wrinkles around his eyes that he was the older of the two. The other was a little shorter, with light blonde hair and he was clearly young. Ella rolled down the window as the two approached.

"License and registration Ma'am." The blonde said.

"No just why in the hell would I give two no good cops my license?" Ella asked. Kelly's mouth dropped open slightly but then the cops burst into laughter and Ella did too.

"Well hells bells if it ain't little Carol herself." The older one said.

"How are you JD?" Ella asked.

"I'm good darlin'. I thought you ran off the Shit cago?" he asked. Kelly pursed his lips and Ella gave him a weak smile.

"It's actually a great place JD. Shut up and go get in your car while I talk to this prick." Ella said shoving the blonde in the shoulder.

"It was good to see you Little Carol." JD said as he walked to the car. Ella waved her hand and turned her gaze to the blonde.

"Ella." He said

"Tommy, how are you?" she asked.

"I'm better now that you're here. Becca is driving me up the wall." He said.

"Good, you're lucky I'm here is what you are. You know how dramatic Becca is. You're lucky she didn't run to Mom the moment she found out. Then mom would have told Dad and you would be dead." She said. Kelly gathered that this was Ella's sister's fiancé.

"I know Ella I know." he said.

"I'm sure you do Tommy." She said. "Where is everyone?" she asked.

"At Max's." he said. Ella nodded and waved her hand as she pulled the truck away from where he stood. Kelly looked over at her and grinned.

"Shit cago?" he asked.

"Yeah, sorry about that. The South is a great place, just like Chicago, but then once in a while you run into those real serious Southerners that hate every single Northerner they meet. JD is old school, a little ridiculous if you ask me, but he's one of my mom's closest friends, so we deal with him." she smirked.

"I see, so Tommy, is your sister's fiancé?" Kelly asked.

"Yeah, he's a good kid, but he thinks with his other head way too often." She said.

"Don't we all." Kelly said. Ella laughed as they drove into the heart of town.

* * *

"Ok, here we are." She said. Kelly looked at everything as they drove into town. He spotted a large school, a church, and a small plaza looking thing. Ella pulled in and parked the truck in front of a restaurant. Max's place the sign read.

"Ok listen," Ella said turning sideways in her seat and looking at Kelly, "Please don't let my family run you off. They can be a bit much, very often and I apologize in advance for anything that they might say. I also apologize for my Mamaw, because she's a tad bit of a get them gone type, as in she wants all the grandkids married and gone out of the house. None of us live in the house, but she's not satisfied by that, she wants us married, so I'm sorry for anything she says regarding that." Ella was rambling and Kelly just nodded along as she talked about various things.

"Ella, Ella stop talking." He said slowly. She sighed and crinkled her nose.

"I will be fine and I won't take anything personally." He said. Ella nodded and ran her fingers over his hand.

"Let's do this Severide." She said. He smirked and they both climbed out of the truck. Kelly let her lead the way as she walked into the restaurant. There were three women inside and they all turned and basically screamed when she walked in the door. Kelly winced and stood back as they rushed Ella. The first was a short woman, about Ella's height, she had Ella's hair color with a few gray hairs. They hugged and the woman pushed Ella's hair from her eyes and smiled. Kelly knew this was her mother.

"Kelly, come here." Ella waved. He stepped up to them.

"Mom, this is Kelly. Kelly this is my mother Carol." Ella said. She gushed and put her hand over her heart.

"Gosh you're so handsome." She smiled. Kelly chuckled and stuck his hand out, but instead she threw her arms around him and squeezed. Kelly didn't expect it, but it was nice. The next person was a girl that looked almost identical to Ella except she was taller and lankier, not nearly as curved as Ella.

"Thank god you're here." she said grabbing Ella's arms.

"Becca, this is Kelly. Kelly, my sister Becca." Ella said nodding. She turned to him and paused, seeming a little shocked but she quickly recovered and stuck out her hand.

"Nice to meet you." She said. Kelly noticed her accent was much thicker than Ella's. Finally an older woman stepped up, she also had dark black hair, but with more grays than Ella's mother.

"Oh look at you baby girl. I've missed my little peanut." She said grabbing Ella in a hug. Ella smiled widely and hugged her back.

"Mamaw, this is Kelly. Kelly, my Mamaw Maxine." Ella said.

"Call me Max." the older woman said as she pulled him into a hug as well. Ella's mother, Carol checked her watch and then looked toward the door.

"I told your daddy and brother to be here by now. Apparently hunting is more important." She said rolling her eyes.

"Well, you two have a seat and I'll grab yall something to drink." Becca said waving them over. Ella smirked and led the way to a table where they sat down quickly. Ella crossed her legs and looked at Kelly.

"SO?" she asked slowly.

"So, I think they are very friendly and I like them." he said. Ella winked at him and looked up as her sister came over and put down the drinks in front of them. She sat down and sighed.

"Ella, we have so much to do. I need you to start calling caterers and florists tomorrow and seeing who can do it within the time frame." Becca said. Ella just listened as her sister rambled on about various wedding things. Finally, the door opened and three men walked in, all decked out in camouflage. Ella's head jerked up and she smiled really wide and Kelly knew these three were her favorite people. No doubt she loved all of them, but these three were special. Kelly stood as she did and she hurried over to them.

"Baby." The first man said opening his arms. Ella moved into them and Kelly watched as they shared a long hug. This man was about as tall as him and he had brown hair and bright green eyes, just like Ella's. Kelly walked over as she moved to the second person. A very tall, lean, young man, he had black hair and bright green eyes, like Ella and her sister, so this must be her brother. Ella hugged him tightly and he rubbed his hand over her back, and finally the last man. He was much older than the first two, he had a head full of gray hair and he was just a bit taller than Ella. Ella threw her arms around his neck and clutched him tightly.

"Hey there peanut." He said rubbing her back. When Ella finally pulled back she turned to Kelly.

"Guys, this is Kelly. Kelly, this is my dad Kyle, my brother Ian, and my Papaw Martin." She said. Kelly reached out and shook each man's hand. He didn't miss at all the way they looked at him, as if he were public enemy number one.

"Glad yall decided to show up. Now let's eat." Carol said as they began to bring food from the kitchen. Ella took Kelly's hand and led him back to the table and they sat down. Once everyone was settled Kelly looked over the food. There was a lot of it, more than plenty for them. They all served themselves and then settled down to eat. Kelly was sitting next to Ella's sister and he felt more comfortable there than he would have if he were sitting next to one of the Patriarchs.

"So Kelly is it?" Ella's father spoke up.

"Yes Sir." Kelly said nodding.

"What exactly do you do Kelly?" he asked.

"I work for the Chicago Fire Department as the Lieutenant of a Rescue Squad." He said.

"Rescue squad, what is that?" Ella's grandpa, Martin asked.

"We specialize in rescuing trapped victims, from cars, in buildings, etcetera." He said.

"Oh, I see. Well we like service men and women here, America's heroes." Martin said smiling. Kelly smiled and nodded as he continued to eat.

"What's that like Kelly, being a firefighter?" Carol asked.

"It's um, crazy at times. It really gets your adrenaline pumping when you rush into that burning building. It's rewarding also, knowing you just saved someone's life." He said.

"Obviously rewarding, you got a good deal out of it." Becca smiled. Ella froze and briefly closed her eyes. Kelly instantly knew what was wrong, she hadn't told her parent's about the fire she'd been in.

"What are you talking about Rebecca?" Kyle spoke up.

"Oh crap, I'm sorry…" she said slowly.

"Ella." Carol said looking to her daughter. Ella glared at her sister and put her fork down.

"Ok, don't freak out, but about four months into living in my building it caught fire, faulty wiring or something." Ella said. Carol gasped and put her hand over her heart again, Kelly knew now where Becca got her dramatic behavior.

"I was on the top floor, there were these two little kids next door to me and their mom had run to the store because the youngest had a fever. She'd only been gone five minutes when the building went up. So I ran next door to get them out, when I went to get the little girl I lost my breath and fell down. Kelly found me and got us out." She said. Kelly suppressed a smirk, she wasn't telling them the full story, but clearly she knew better than to do that.

"Ella Marie Dennison!" her mother hissed.

"This is why I didn't tell you. Besides, I was fine. I didn't see a point in worrying you or having you rush there just to make sure I was ok when I was. I know how you are mom." Ella said.

"Well Kelly, thanks for saving our girl, don't know what we'd do without her." Martin said. Kelly could tell why Ella loved him, he was pretty chill and laid back.

"No problem." Kelly said.

"So Kelly, you two aren't having sex are you? Because I'd have to kill you." Her father said.

"Dad!" Ella said. Kelly could see the red blush creeping up her neck and he honestly felt bad for her.

"No they have to get married first. They also need to have some cute little babies; their babies would be so beautiful." Maxine said.

"Maxine please, let's not talk about babies right now, they aren't even married." Kyle said.

"Babies without marriage, not a good idea. Most people end up divorced that way." Her brother Ian chimed in.

"That is why Tommy and I are waiting." Becca smiled. Ella full on glared at her sister. Kelly smirked, he had a feeling Becca was always trying to keep up with her sister, and that didn't help their relationship. As everyone argued back and forth Ella just sat there, turning completely red and cutting her eyes at her family. Kelly reached under the table and took her hand firmly in his. He ran his thumb over the top of her hand and she finally turned to him and smiled softly.

"I'm so sorry." She mouthed. He smiled back at her and ran his thumb over her hand again. She was right, they were great, but they were also a little much. Not worse than his family though. Oh shit, what would happen when he asked Ella to meet his family?


	19. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

Ella walked into the kitchen where her mother, sister, and grandmother were. Her sister was at the table dialing her phone, her mother and grandmother both at the stove, cooking. It was just now 7 am, Kelly was still sleeping upstairs in his room. Her father had insisted on two separate rooms.

"Good morning baby." Her mother smiled. Ella yawned and ran her fingers through her hair, quickly pulling it back into a pony tail.

"Morning." She said as she walked toward the coffee pot. She poured a large sized cup and made her way to the table.

"Who are you calling Becca?" she asked as she sat down. She carefully pulled her feet up into the chair and sipped her coffee as her sister glanced up.

"I'm calling Nick, he's my wedding planner. He said he'd come help today. I told him I was moving the date and he didn't have an issue with that." she said. She huffed as she hung up the phone and tried dialing again.

"Becca, I'm sure he's still sleeping." Ella said.

"Well he has a commitment, he needs to get up." she hissed. Ella snorted and continued to drink her coffee as her mother chuckled.

"My little bridezilla." Their grandmother said. Ella laughed as Becca glared and continued to dial.

"So, I think daddy liked Kelly." Ella's mother said as she mixed something in a bowl. Ella nodded and looked up to her mom.

"Yeah, I think he did too." Ella said, and by like she really meant, he put up with him and smiled once.

"Morning girls." Ella's father said as he came into the kitchen.

"Morning dad." Ella said. Ella turned and watched her father come into the kitchen and fix his coffee, he shared a kiss with her mother and then he came to sit down, opening his paper. Ella ran her eyes over his pristine uniform and she smiled, she missed seeing her dad get ready for work in the morning. She remembered when she was younger she used to steal his tie and wrap in around her head so he didn't have to leave so early. Her head came up as she heard another set of feet make their way down the stairs. Kelly came around the corner, already dressed in a pair of loose fitting light blue jeans and a black t-shirt. Ella dropped her head back as he smiled and came up to her.

"Good morning." She said with a smile. He leaned down and gave her a quick peck on the lips.

"Morning." He said. Ella watched as her father pretended not to notice.

"Kelly sweetie, the coffee is over here, and I'm almost done with breakfast." Her mother said.

"My granddaughters should get over here and help us cook breakfast. After all they'll both be married before you know it." her grandma said. Ella rolled her eyes and stood up, she was done with her coffee and she needed to get dressed for Becca's fitting today.

"So what's on the agenda for today?" Kelly asked as she came over to put her cup in the sink.

"I have a full day packed with loads and loads of wedding excitement." Ella smirked. The front door opened and Ella's grandfather came in.

"Good morning." he said smiling. They all mumbled their greetings as he came into the kitchen and gave his wife a peck on the cheek.

"So what should I do?" he asked.

"Well, you could ride around town, look around you know." she shrugged with a slight laugh.

"Hey, Kelly, you can come with me. I need to run some errands for the wife but afterwards I was going to go hunting. Ever shot a rifle?" her grandfather asked smiling. Kelly smirked and shook his head.

"Sorry Sir, don't get much of a chance to shoot a rifle in Chicago." He said.

"That's alright, we can have a quick lesson before we go. How about it?" he asked.

"Sure, sounds fun." Kelly said. Ella turned to him and smiled.

"You don't have to if you don't want to." She said.

"I want to." He assured her.

"Well I have a little date planned for us tonight anyway. So I'll see you around 8." She said.

"Papaw will you drop Kelly off at Dunn's Point on your way in?" she asked.

"Of course baby." He said nodding.

"Planning on staying at the point tonight?" her dad asked.

"Yes daddy, why?" she asked turning to him. He raised an eyebrow and looked at her. Kelly stood back and watched as the two looked at each other for a few seconds. Everyone seemed to noticed and watch before her father finally nodded.

"Just wondering." He said turning back to his paper. Kelly had a feeling this was something that happened often.

* * *

Ella came back down the stairs and spotted Kelly at the bottom by the door. He was wearing a camo shirt, camo pants, and a camo hat. Ella started laughing as she reached the bottom step. He looked up and she shook her head.

"Oh you look so handsome." She giggled.

"Shut up." he said with a laugh. She stepped off the stair case and ran her hand across his chest.

"What was that whole thing with your dad earlier?" he asked as he pulled her into his arms. She rolled her eyes and sighed.

"I moved out when I was 18 and every since then I've been making my own decisions because I was paying for everything myself. He knew he couldn't tell me what to do anymore and one day he ordered me to do something and we had this big blow up fight where I pretty much told him that he wasn't every going to tell me what to do because I was an adult. We've had a pretty decent understanding since then, now every time I say I'm going to do something and he questions it we kind of look at each other, I guess as a little challenge. I don't know." she shrugged.

"I see." He said.

"Ella, let's go!" Becca called from the kitchen.

"The warden is calling." Ella said.

"See you tonight." He said.

"Tonight." Ella repeated. They shared a short kiss before Ella took off into the kitchen.

* * *

Kelly was riding next to Martin as they drove down a long dirt road. It was past dark and he was pretty happy to get to see Ella. He'd had a decent time with Martin, they'd been in different shooting houses as he'd said so they hadn't been able to talk much, Kelly didn't really mind. They started up a hill and Kelly checked his phone. It was nearly 8, they were making good time.

"You seem like a real good boy Kelly. Just don't do her wrong. She's a good girl, been through a lot." He said nodding. Kelly nodded back as the truck started slowing down.

"Yes Sir, she is a great girl." He said. They drove into a wide open field as Kelly spotted the red truck they'd driven from the airport. Martin stopped and put the truck in reverse.

"Yall be careful, see you tomorrow." He said. Kelly nodded and slipped from the truck, everyone seemed to know what was going on but him. Martin drove the opposite direction and the red trucks lights came on.

"Hey there." Ella said coming around the side of the truck. Kelly took her in, she looked exactly like he'd imagine a country girl would. She was wearing a pair of cut off jeans, cowboy boots, and a white tank top. Her hair was down and Kelly smiled, he liked it best that way.

"Hey yourself. What's going on?" he asked.

"Did Papaw take you to get some supper?" she asked.

"He did." Kelly nodded.

"Good." Ella looked up at the dark sky.

"Come on." She waved him forward. Kelly followed her as they climbed into the truck and began driving down a path through the trees. Kelly looked around and wondered how she knew where she was going, but he trusted her instincts. A few moments later a break in the trees appeared and they drove into another field. Kelly saw several large trucks backed up in a circle around a large fire. Ella turned wide and threw the truck in reverse. She backed into an open spot in the circle. Kelly spotted several people all about their age, waving and milling around.

"What's this?" he asked.

"A bonfire. My friend Beth is throwing it." she smiled.

"By the way, here, I brought you a change of clothes." She said passing him a bag.

"Oh thank god." He said taking the bag.

"You change and join me when you're done." She smiled. She opened her door and hopped down as Kelly quickly changed. He spotted several men out there that didn't look attached to another girl's hip, and Ella looked too good to pass up tonight. He climbed out and met her at the back of the truck. She was flanked by two women.

"Kelly this is my friend Beth, we worked at the hospital here together, and this is Vicky, she worked with me also." Ella said pointing to both girls.

"Guys this is Kelly." She said. They stuck their hands out and Kelly shook them.

"Great to meet you both." He said.

"Hey hey!" a loud male voice called. Ella looked up and Kelly saw a frown briefly crease her face before she quickly hid it with a smile.

"Ethan." She nodded.

"I haven't seen you in forever El Cat!" he said pulling her rather unwillingly into a hug.

"Yeah, good to see you Ethan." She nodded. Kelly watched her turn a glare to Beth before she shook it off.

"I'm Kelly, her boyfriend." Kelly said sticking his hand out quickly. Ethan seemed to stumble as he looked at the man next to her. Ella smirked and laced her arm through Kelly's as Ethan took his hand. Kelly made sure to squeeze his hand pretty hard.

"Nice to meet you." Ethan said nodding.

"See yall later." He said turning away.

"Before you jump down my throat, I did not invite him." Beth said waving her hands.

"Who is he?" Kelly asked.

"A guy that I refused to date in high school." She said with a smile. Kelly nodded as Beth grabbed up two beers and passed it to them. Kelly sipped the beer and watched as Ella talked and chatted with everyone who passed by, she introduced him time and time again, but he couldn't tell you who they were, he was too focused on Ella enjoying herself.

Later that night Ella and Kelly sat on the tailgate of their truck, their legs swinging back and forth as they chatted.

"Papaw didn't annoy you too much did he?" Ella asked.

"No, he was great. We had fun." Kelly said.

"Did yall kill anything?" she asked. Kelly shook his head and looked up as the Ethan guy started blaring music.

"No, he saw a deer, but it was to small he said." Kelly said. Ella nodded and pursed her lips.

"Thanks for going with him. Daddy always has to work and Ian isn't too interested in it." Ella said.

"Is he ok?" Kelly asked. He'd noticed earlier in the day how slow the man was walking and that he walked with a limp. He wasn't sure if he could attribute it to old age or sickness.

"Yeah, he's fine." Ella said with a smile.

"Good." Kelly nodded. A slow song started and he watched Ella's ears perk up.

"Want to dance?" she asked turning to him.

"Of course." Kelly answered. He slid off the truck and took her hand as she hopped down. Kelly pulled her against his chest and wrapped his arms around her waist as they gently swayed back and forth. He caught Ethan's eyes glaring at them but he just shook it off and looked back at Ella. Her green eyes were shining in the light from the fire and he leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"What was that for?" she asked wrinkling her nose.

"You're beautiful." He said. Ella chuckled and raised an eyebrow.

"Are you trying to get laid tonight Severide?" she asked. Kelly chuckled and shook his head.

"I wasn't really trying, but if it's working..." He said. Ella pursed her lips and nodded.

"Well keep trying." She smirked. He smiled and ran his fingers along her spine, she closed her eyes briefly and Kelly watched goose bumps raise on her arms.

"That is cheating." She said.

"How so?" he asked.

"Well it's like me doing this." she raised quickly on her tip toes and ran her lips along his jaw, until she reached the spot behind his ear and nibbled. Kelly's knees wobbled involuntarily and he shivered.

"I see your point." he said swallowing hard. The song ended and Ella slid her fingers into his open hand. He tightened his grip on her smaller hand as she turned to Beth.

"We're going to get going. See you later Bethy." She smiled. They shared a brief hug and then Ella turned toward the truck. Kelly climbed in behind her and they drove back the way they'd come until they reached the same open field. Ella stopped and climbed out.

"What are you doing?" Kelly asked climbing out as well. Ella opened the back doors of the truck and started pulling huge pillows out and tossing them into the back of the truck.

"Are you going to stand there and watch or help me?" she asked smiling. Kelly smirked and grabbed some pillows. They tossed pillows until the back of the truck was full. Finally Ella grabbed a large blanket and tossed it in the back.

"Are we staying here?" he asked. Ella nodded and grabbed the tailgate. Kelly was temporarily thrown off focus as she pulled herself up and her butt stuck out in his face. He shook it off.

"Why?" he asked.

"You'll see." She smiled. She climbed onto the bed of pillows and stared at him.

"Well come on." She said waving. Kelly sighed and climbed up slowly next to her.

"Lay back." she said. She demonstrated by lying down on her back. Kelly laid down next to her and looked at her.

"What now?" he asked.

"Look." She pointed up as she turned her head skyward. Kelly looked up and stopped all movement. He was completely still at the beauty before him. He'd never seen the stars like this. Sure he caught a glimpse of them every once in a while through the city lights, but not like this. In a field, in the pitch black of night, they were clear as light bulbs. It was wonderful.

"Wow." He said slowly.

"Pretty right?" she said.

"Very." He said.

"This is what I miss most about living in the country. I can't see the stars like this living in Chicago. The lights are too bright. But out here, it's so calm, and so beautiful." She said. Kelly's ears perked as he heard crickets chirping in the field. He smiled, this was peaceful. He'd never experienced this before. Ella rolled into his side and Kelly wrapped his arm around her, pulling her even closer. She laid her head on his chest and stared up at the stars.

"You won't be late for wedding planning tomorrow right?" he asked with a smirk. Ella leaned up into his field of vision and dipped down. The kiss was deep and lasted only seconds, but both were breathless afterward.

"Who cares?" she asked. Kelly smiled and leaned up capturing her lips again. Ella smiled into the kiss and Kelly quickly rolled on top of her. Their lips moved slowly against each other as Ella kicked out of the boots. Kelly's head dropped to her neck and he kissed her slowly and gently as she wiggled out of her shorts. She ran her fingers under his shirt and slipped it carefully over his head. His chest was still healing and Ella reminded herself of that as she took the button of his jeans and undid it, followed by his zipper sliding down. She lifted and ran her lips across his jaw and then slowly down his neck as he shimmied out of his jeans. They broke apart briefly so that Ella could tug her shirt over her head and remove her bra. Kelly sunk down slowly and wrapped his lips around one of her nipples, taking it into his mouth and running his tongue across the soft skin as it puckered under his mouth. Ella moaned and held her hands firmly to his back as her stomach started to knot up. Kelly slid his hands down her body and gripped her panties, Ella helped him as she lifted upward and they slid easily down her legs. Ella did the same to his boxers and then she relished in the fact that they were both naked. Ella slid her hands up his hips, over his sides, across his biceps, up his neck, until they rested on the sides of his face. He returned to her lips and they kissed slowly as his knee moved gently in between her legs, spreading them wide. Ella lifted her hips as Kelly moved slowly into her core. Ella moaned loudly and arched upward against him. Her hips met his as they slowly picked up a rhythm together, him moving in and out slowly and gently, her moving her hips in a slow circular motion, pushing him on. Ella lifted her legs and hooked her ankles on his hips as he pushed deeper and deeper. Her stomach was lurching and knotting up, as it sunk to her lower region she lifted her hands and slipped them under his arms, her fingers gripped his back as she pulled her upper half up. She trailed small kisses over his jaw and neck as his pace quickened.

"Kelly." She whispered in his ear. He grunted his reply as his pace quickened even more. Ella felt the familiar feeling in her stomach and her nails dug into his back as she tipped over the edge. Her orgasm ripped through her and she shuddered and rocked around him. She'd never felt like this before, this was amazing. She lifted her head and rested it against his neck as he shoved into her once more, finding his release. He shuddered against her and then rolled to the side. Ella lay under the night sky, looking up at the stars, trying to catch her breath. She was sweating and chilly at the same time. Her hand stretched out into the dark and found his open palm.

"I'm really starting to like the country." He said in a deep husky voice. Ella chuckled and finally managed to catch her breath.

"It's not so bad." She smiled. Ella grabbed the blanket as her shivers got worse and she tugged it over them. Kelly gripped her hand and pulled her into him. She tucked herself around his warm, muscled body and laid her head on his shoulder.

"Do you think we're moving too fast?" Ella asked slowly. Kelly started running his fingers through her hair.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Well, we haven't dated that long and here you are spending a month with my family." She said.

"We've been together almost four months." He reminded her.

"Still." She said.

"We're fine Ella. Don't second guess it." he said. Ella nodded against him and closed her eyes. He looked over at her and took in the way her black eyelashes laid smoothly on her cheeks, the red color still there from their recent bout in the truck. He had to remind himself not to second guess it, Ella was the second longest relationship he'd ever had. His first being six months with his high school girlfriend. She was a good girl, she treated him right, she forgave his shortcomings, get used to it Severide, you've got a good one, he said to himself.


	20. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

Ella sat at the kitchen table, her head in her hands. She'd been here three weeks and the wedding day was coming up very fast. But now they were at a standstill.

"Becca, I have been sitting at this table for four hours with you trying to decide on a cake. I missed my date with Kelly and had to leave him with Tommy, now I swear to you if you don't pick a cake in the next five minutes I'll board a plane and go home tonight." Ella said pointing at her sister. Becca's eyes widened and tears sprang forward, Ella threw her hands into the air and fell backward into her seat.

"Now here come the waterworks." She said crossing her arms. She heard laughing and cheering from the living room and she was honestly more jealous of the men watching football than she'd ever been. Her mother came around the corner with some empty beer bottles and tossed them in the trash.

"Becca honey, why are you crying?" she asked opening the fridge.

"Ella yelled at me." she said dropping her head into her hands. Her mom grabbed a few more beers and turned around.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Mom we've been sitting here four hours and she will not pick a damn cake." Ella said waving her hand.

"Show me the cakes." Her mom said walking over. Ella grabbed the pictures and held them up. One cake was a three tier classic white wedding cake with round cakes and small ribbon designs on the sides. The other was a four tier square blush pink cake with small edible pearls around the edges.

"What do you like about each?" her mother asked looking toward Becca.

"Well, the white is so classic yet the ribbon makes it look modern, and then the blush is so modern and pretty." She said with a smile. Ella's mother sighed and rolled her eyes.

"You see what I mean?" Ella asked.

"Ok honey, would you rather where pearls or ribbon?" her mother asked.

"Pearls." Becca answered quickly.

"Great, so you go with the pearls." She smiled. Becca beamed as she took the picture of the blush colored cake.

"Aw yeah, this is a good one. Ok, blush it is." She smiled.

"Finally!" Ella said hopping up. She grabbed the beers from her mom and moved quickly into the living room.

"Look who decided to join the living." Tommy smiled as Ella passed him a beer. She snickered and handed Kelly one.

"I feel like I've just been released from prison." Ella smirked. Kelly looped his finger through her belt loop and pulled her down onto his lap. Ella dropped gently onto his knees and she pulled her legs up over his.

"Did you at least have a good day?" Ella asked as she slid her arms around his neck.

"I did, Tommy and I went to town." Kelly said. Ella wrinkled her nose and laid her head on his shoulder. Her eyes fluttered shut; she hadn't even realized how tired she was until she'd sat down with Kelly. He was warm and comfortable, and when his arm wrapped around her and held her close as he leaned back into the couch, she nearly passed out. She managed to stay somewhat awake, flickering between consciousness and sleep. She heard Tommy and Kelly talking back and forth and when her name came up her ears perked slightly.

"Oh I meant to tell her, but I guess you can when she wakes up. Bennet got out of jail three months back. We haven't seen much of him around here lately. I think he moved away." Tommy said. Ella felt Kelly's arm tighten around her waist and she resisted a smile.

"Did this guy get any jail time?" Kelly asked.

"Not really, Bennet's parents are pretty well connected, even though they don't have much money. They knew the judge over the case and got him time off. Ella wasn't here to testify so that went out the window." Tommy said.

"Why didn't he move in with his parents when he lost his house?" Kelly asked.

"They kind of disowned him when he married Ella, they never liked her much, but once he got into trouble they picked him up, dusted him off, and took him back in." he said.

"Why didn't they like Ella?" Kelly asked. Tommy chuckled.

"Ella has always been very free and independent. She's always kind of done her own thing no matter what anyone else thought. They didn't believe in that, they didn't like the fact that she was a doctor either. His parents were really 50s in that way. Women are in the house, barefoot and pregnant, man brings home the bacon. All that junk." Tommy said.

"Oh I see." Kelly said.

"You're not like that are you?" Tommy asked. Kelly chuckled and Ella sighed as his chest gently shook her.

"Not at all. I like her free spirit a lot. The fact that she is independent makes her all the more attractive." Kelly said. Ella ground her teeth in a last ditch effort to keep her smile at bay. The men continued to talk back and forth, switching the gears to football and Ella slowly drifted off.

The football game ended and Tommy turned to him.

"Well, I'll see you later Kelly, thanks for coming to town with me today man." Tommy said. Kelly nodded and shook his hand with his free hand as Tommy went to the kitchen to say his goodbyes. Kelly looked down at Ella. She was curled into his lap like a kitten, one of her arms slung around his waist, the other resting on his chest, her head was laid on his shoulder, her nose touching his neck just barely. Kelly sighed and slipped his hand under her knees, and he made sure his grip on her back was secure as he stood up. Ella barely shifted as he moved toward the stairs. He took them two at a time and made it into her room without bashing her head on anything. Kelly eased the door shut with his foot and locked it. He quickly kicked his shoes off and climbed across the bed, holding Ella gently in his arms. He laid her out carefully and then he eased down next to her. Ella yawned and rolled over to her side, turning her back to him as she curled up and let out a shuddering breath before her breathing evened out. Kelly grabbed the covers and tossed them over her before he settled in. Her dad might be pissed, but Kelly had a feeling Ella wouldn't care that much.

* * *

The wedding day was here and Ella was more than relieved. She'd been working hard for a month, and now here they were at the end result. Ella looked in the mirror. Her hair was pulled up in a low bun with specks of glitter here and there. The short, navy blue, A-line, sweetheart neckline dress she was wearing was very flattering and not ugly at all.

"We're ready for our maids!" her mom called at the door. Ella and the other girls moved toward the door. Ella stood back as the other girls walked out to the music and then she looked back as Becca came out of the back room. She looked phenomenal, her dress was huge and poufy just like she'd wanted, the veil shielded her face partially and her hair was down in her soft natural waves. She and Ella had the same hair, except Becca always kept hers up and straight when it was down. It was also far shorter than Ella's.

"Wow, you look stunning." Ella smiled. Becca beamed at her and nodded.

"Come here." she waved her over. Ella quickly rushed to her sister's side and she pulled her into a hug.

"Ella I can't thank you enough for what you did, you've helped me more in one month than I could have ever imagined, and you've made my day so special. I love you so much." Becca said as she pulled her into a hug. Ella smiled and nodded.

"Ella! Come on!" her mother waved.

"I love you to Becca. Shine out there, make me proud." Ella said. She released her sister and rushed to the door. Her mother handed her the bouquet and she took off for the aisle. She got to the end of the white aisle covered in orange, white, red, and pink flower petals and she took a deep breath as all the faces turned to her. Her eyes scanned the crowd and she spotted Kelly. He was sitting in the third row, wearing a black tux with a white undershirt, and a black tie. He smiled at her and Ella smiled back as she started to walk down the aisle. Her mind wandered as she made her way toward the front. She imagined her wedding day, not nearly as big an extravagant as her sister's of course, but small, maybe outside, under a beautiful arch. She smiled as she reached the front and she stepped up onto the stairs. She turned toward the back as the flower girl came trotting down the aisle. Kelly wasn't looking at the flower girl though, he was looking at Ella. Ella smirked and slipped her tongue out ever so small and then jerked it back in before anyone saw. The bridal march started and everyone stood as Becca came through the doors on the arm of their father. She looked beautiful, and suddenly, Ella, the girl who had never wanted to get married to begin with, wanted this all. She wanted the bridesmaids, the flower girl, her father walking her down the aisle, and most of all she wanted to groom standing at the front, a huge smile on his face as he looked at the woman he loved.

* * *

The day for them to leave came faster than expected. Ella knew it was coming, but she wasn't really ready. Despite how much her family annoyed her, she still adored them, and wanted to stay with them. Ella and Kelly were standing outside the boarding area, as their numbers were called. Her family gathered in front of her. She'd said by to Tommy and her sister before they left for their honeymoon, so she was just down to a few.

"I don't know what I'm going to do without my baby girl. Oh Ella." Her mother said pulling her into a chest crushing hug.

"You'll be fine mom, I promise." She said patting her mom's back. She nodded and removed herself as Ella turned to her dad.

"You be good." He said sternly.

"Yes Sir." Ella said with a smirk. He grinned and pulled her into his chest. Her Mamaw was next. She gave her a quick hug and then tapped her nose.

"Next time I see you I bet you two will be getting hitched." She smiled. Ella rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Ok Mamaw." She said turning to her Papaw.

"Ok Ella, listen now, you better come back to visit soon, don't make your old Papaw drive all the way up there just to see you." He said. Ella smiled and nodded.

"Ok Papaw." She hugged him and barely turned to her brother before he grabbed her in a hug.

"Be careful, don't get into anymore fires." He said squeezing her. Ella nodded and watched as Kelly shook the men's hands and shared hugs with the women.

"Let's get going before our plane leaves us." Ella said. Kelly nodded and Ella waved as they walked away. They were on the plane before a small tear came rolling down her cheek. Kelly gave her a reassuring smile.

"I'm sure we'll come back to visit soon." He said as they settled into their seats.

"We?" Ella asked with a small smile.

"Yes we, they love me too you know?" he said. Ella chuckled and shook her head.

* * *

They'd been back in the city a month and both parties had returned to work. They'd both enjoyed their time off, Kelly had been able to relax and heal properly, Ella had been able to sit down, a little too much for her taste, but she'd be fine. Ella walked into her office and sat down in her chair. It had been an incredibly slow day and she remembered Kelly had a doctor's appointment today, on the fifth floor. She shrugged and grabbed her pager before she lifted her phone. She hit Patrice's number and after a few rings she picked up.

"Dr. Nichols and Dr. Dennison's office, what can I do for you today." She answered.

"Morning Patrice, it's Ella. I'm going to run up to see Kelly; he has a doctor's appointment this morning and I'm going to go up there, take my calls and page me if you need me. I'll be back shortly." Ella said.

"Yes ma'am." Patrice said. Ella hung up the phone and clipped her pager to her belt as she left her office and headed for the elevator. The doors dinged and she slipped inside, her eyes lifted as she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, she looked down the long corridor and spotted a familiar mop of blonde hair. The doors closed all the way as her heart raced. The only person she knew with hair like that was Bennet. Her stomach turned and she felt like she was about to throw up everywhere. She grabbed the rail to steady herself as the doors dinged open on the fifth floor. She lurched out and ran into the first bathroom she spotted, hurling herself onto the toilet and puking up everything in her stomach. She sank to the floor and her body shook roughly as tears streamed down her face, she wasn't crying, but the force of her throwing up had caused the tears to come. He couldn't be here, he just couldn't. He'd ruin her life, her job, her relationship. He'd ruin everything. She eased herself up from the floor and moved to the sink where she washed her hands and face. She flushed the toilet and turned out of the bathroom. Her body was still shaking rather violently as she walked into the doctor's office and into the back hallway where the rooms were located. She took a few deep breaths as she found his room to try and stop the shaking. Her hand knocked loudly on the door.

"Come in." Kelly called. Ella pushed the door open and smiled when she spotted him sitting on the table.

"Hey." He said as a smile broke across his face. Ella tucked her hands into her pockets as she walked over to him.

"We're having a slow day, I figured I'd come up and see how you were doing." she said.

"Good, nurse just left and told me the new x-rays came back and the doctor would be in in just a minute." He said. Ella nodded and leaned against his leg.

"What did she say last time?" Ella asked.

"She said healing time would be at least a year, and even then working again was not guaranteed." Kelly said. Ella pursed her lips and nodded.

"So what will these x-rays tell?" she asked.

"She told me these will allow her to see just how extensive the damage is, and it might shed some light on just how long recovery will be so she can give me an exact estimate." Kelly said.

"Well, even if recovery time is longer than expected, you can still work in the firehouse, not out on duty of course, but maybe like other stuff." She shrugged. Kelly nodded and his eyes ran over Ella.

"Are you ok?" he asked. Ella ground her teeth at how easily it was for him to tell when something was wrong with her.

"Just not feeling too hot." She said.

"Well trust me, you are." He smirked. Ella laughed and pinched his side as a brief knock sounded. The door opened and the doctor came in.

"Hello Mr. Severide, and…" she trialed off and looked over the woman at his side.

"Ella Dennison." She said sticking her hand out. She took it and shook it quickly.

"You work here?" she asked as she eyed her ID card.

"Co-head in the ER." She said.

"Oh wow, nice to meet you." She said. Ella nodded as the Dr. turned and hung up the X-Rays.

"Well Mr. Severide, the damage was not as bad as expected. These x-rays allowed us to see that it is a possibility that you're back to work in 2 months. That is if you do everything we tell you to do exactly as we tell it to you, and once you're back at work you'll need to take it easy for 3 months before you return to full duty. That means handing over the reins for just a bit and letting someone else pull the heavy load." She said smiling. Ella's hand found his quickly and she squeezed it. She turned her eyes to his face and saw the large smile there. It was better news than he expected.

"So I guess the big question is this: Do I need to schedule the consult and surgery?" the doctor asked. Ella stared forward at him as he slowly swallowed and then nodded.

"Yeah, go ahead." He said. Ella felt like jumping up and down. This was a huge step for him, he was finally admitting something was wrong and he needed surgery.

"Great, I'll go arrange everything, they'll have your appointment and paperwork at the front desk. Have a great evening Mr. Severide, Dr. Dennison." She nodded. Ella nodded as did Kelly.

"Wow." Ella said slowly. Kelly nodded and pulled her against him.

"How great is that?" she asked. He pressed his lips to hers and smiled.

"Pretty damn great." He said.


	21. Chapter 20

**The next chapter will be the last. Thank you all for being faithful readers and reviewers, I cannot thank you enough! **

**Chapter 20**

Ella was sitting on the bar at Maggie's place as she started cooking. She was munching on a large cookie she'd bought at the corner bakery. It had smelled so good she couldn't resist.

"So was it actually him?" Maggie asked as she opened a bag of dill pickles.

"I don't know Maggie, it looked like his hair, but I couldn't see his face or anything, so I can't really say." She said. The pickle smell hit her nose and she moaned.

"ohhhh, give me one of those." Ella said reaching. She grabbed a pickle and stuck it in her mouth along with the cookie.

"What are you eating?" Mary said coming up to her.

"Chocolate chip cookie and a pickle." Ella said smiling.

"Ella, that's gross." Maggie said.

"It sounds gross, but god it's good." She said taking another bite. Maggie stared at her for a minute before she shook her head and got back to work. She grabbed the cheese from the fridge and opened it wide. Ella took another bite of the pickle as the cheese smell drifted into her nose. Before she could stop herself she gagged. She felt everything she'd eaten come rushing up and she jumped off the counter and scrambled to the bathroom. She made it just in time to throw herself over the toilet and puke the contents of her stomach up. Pickle and cookie did not taste as good coming up as they did going down.

"Ella, what the hell?" Maggie asked as she rushed into the bathroom. Ella was finished and she dropped back onto the floor.

"I feel like shit." Ella said shaking her head and wiping her mouth on her hand.

"Oh Ella…you're not…you're not pregnant are you?" Maggie asked. Ella's eyes shot open and she shook her head quickly.

"Hell no, I'm on birth control." She said.

"Doesn't matter, one little discrepancy in it and BAM, you're pregnant. That is how I ended up with Mary." Maggie said.

"No, I can't be pregnant. I can't have a baby." She shook her head quickly.

"Calm down, we can make a doctor's appointment, find out for sure." She said quickly. Ella pushed herself off the floor and turned to the sink. No way was she pregnant, she couldn't be, Kelly would die, neither of them was ready for a baby. They weren't even married. Here she was bitching at her sister and now she was in the same boat, possibly. Yeah, stay positive, maybe she wasn't pregnant. Think not pregnant, positive thoughts.

* * *

The next day Ella sat silently in the doctor's office, Maggie was sitting in the chair while Ella perched on the table, her hands shaking.

"We can just go you know, I mean I don't have to know today, we'll just wait until I blow up like a balloon." Ella said as she let out a very nervous laugh. Her stomach was in knots and she felt like she might throw up again. A knock at the door sounded and her heart leapt to her throat, she swallowed down the vomit and tried taking several deep breaths as the doctor walked in.

"Well Ms. Dennison, depending on how you're looking at it, either you're going to be very happy or very upset." He said. Ella sighed, that could mean anything.

"Get on with it." she said closing her eyes.

"You're pregnant." he smiled. Everything in Ella's body sank downward, her heart raced, her mouth watered, and she felt like she was about to pass out.

"Are you sure?" Ella asked quickly.

"Blood test shows positive, but we can do a quick sonogram and make sure." He said. Ella didn't want to know, she really didn't want to know, but she needed to know.

"Ok, alright." She said.

* * *

Ella walked down the street in a daze, her mind going 90 to nothing. Maggie was walking next to her riddling things off as she carried her bag of medicine.

"Prenatal medicine is expensive." Ella said slowly.

"Huh?" Maggie asked quickly.

"It's expensive, babies are expensive. I mean yeah I can handle it, I'm a doctor for Pete's sake, but they need a solid relationship don't they? Like with a mom and dad, a nice house, white fence, a dog, golden retriever, you know the family dog." Ella rattled off. Maggie stopped and grabbed Ella's arms, turning her to face her.

"Listen to me Ella. You're smart, funny, and so great with my kids, you're a doctor, expenses are not bad at all, and no, children don't have to have a father. Mine get along just fine without one. We live in a nice apartment, no dog, no daddy, and we're fine." She said. Ella swallowed hard and nodded.

"But I have to tell Kelly." She said slowly.

"Of course you have to tell Kelly. He deserves to know. He seems like a great guy Ella, one that's willing to help out, and be around. But if not, then we'll be alright. I'll be right there to help through it all, I swear." Maggie said. Ella nodded slowly as Maggie pulled her into a hug.

"I can do this." Ella said quickly.

"You're damn right you can." Maggie said.

"Yeah, I'm strong, I'm independent, I can do this." Ella said.

"Yes ma'am." Maggie said.

"I'm going to be a mom." Ella smiled.

"You're going to be a mom." Maggie repeated. Ella laughed and smiled widely.

"I'm going to be a mom." She said a little louder.

* * *

Ella sat across from Kelly as they ate dinner. She'd chosen a nice restaurant that was decently filled, mostly so that he couldn't make a scene. They'd been together for a while now, nearly six months, not nearly enough time to discuss marriage and babies, but Ella had come to the conclusion that she didn't need to be married in order to have a baby. She and Kelly were not like Becca and Tommy, they didn't need to get married, they could keep dating until they were ready to get married, if that time ever came. If Kelly wanted to be a part of her life and the baby's life then he could, but if not then she needed to know, because if she was going to be alone in this then she needed to start preparing herself.

"So, when is your surgery?" she asked.

"Thursday, I have to be there at 5 am." He said. Ella nodded and took a bite of her steak.

"Well I'm off that day, so I can come if you want." Ella said.

"Of course I want you to come." He smirked.

"Good." She said as the waiter returned.

"How is everything here?" he asked.

"We're good, Ella, you don't want some wine or something?" Kelly asked. Truthfully, there was nothing Ella would like more than a large glass of wine to calm her nerves, but she was a doctor and she knew the effects of alcohol on a baby.

"No, I'm good, thanks." She said. The waiter nodded and left as Kelly raised an eyebrow.

"You're not driving, why aren't you having a glass of wine?" he asked. Ella sighed, she guessed now was as good a time as any.

"I wanted to wait till we were done eating, but I guess I can tell you now." She said putting her fork down. Kelly frowned and sat his down as well.

"I guess this is serious." He said.

"Yeah, it is." She said nodding.

"You're not breaking up with me are you?" he asked with a laugh. Ella shook her head and closed her eyes for a second.

"Ok look, do you remember the night in the field, when we were in Vernon?" she asked. Kelly nodded and smiled.

"Yeah." He said.

"Well my birth control was not effective that day, I don't know why, but it just didn't work." Ella said shaking her head. Kelly's eyes instantly widened.

"Are you saying that you're…" he trailed off as his eyes scanned her.

"Yeah, I'm pregnant." she said in a slight whisper. He sat back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling, his breaths were deep as he tapped his fingers on the table. Ella waited for it to sink it, she waited for him to look back down and take her hand and tell her it would be ok, they could do this, but he just stared at the ceiling.

"Look Kelly, I'm not saying we have to get married, we're not Tommy and Becca, my father's opinion doesn't bother me." she said shaking her head.

"Jeez Ella, how did this happen?" he asked finally looking back down. Ella lifted her eyebrows and smirked.

"Would you like me to explain in detail?" Ella asked.

"I know how it happened, but birth control is your job, you told me you had it covered." He said. Ella dropped back in her seat.

"Are you blaming this on me? It takes two to tango Kelly. I didn't fuck myself." she growled. She noticed several eyes on her and she sighed.

"Look, I'm not doing this, I'm not arguing about this Kelly. I'm pregnant, and I want you to know that I'm not expecting a marriage proposal. I'm not asking for one or anything like that. I want you to make your choices. You can be a part of my life and this child's life if you want, or you can walk away now and never see us again. Your choice Kelly. I'll see you Thursday." She said standing up. She grabbed her purse and hurried out of the restaurant. She was halfway to her apartment when Kelly caught up to her.

"Ella, wait!" he called. She turned and faced him.

"I'm sorry for that, but I'm not ready for this Ella. I've never even had a relationship that lasted longer than six months, and now I'm going to be a father, that makes me in it for the long haul. That's a lot of pressure El." He said. Ella's hormones flared and she laughed.

"Oh I'm sorry that it's a lot of pressure on you. Because if I'm not mistaken I'm the one who is having the baby. I don't get a choice in this Kelly, this baby is in me not you. I told you to walk if you want to. I don't want to hear it anymore Kelly. Make your choice and that's it." she said. She turned on her heel and rushed to her apartment before he could say anything else.

Ella walked into her apartment and closed the door behind her, making sure it was locked. She kicked her heels off and moved into her room to change clothes. She shouldn't have gone off on him like that, he'd had the same reaction she had, he deserved to be nervous and scared. She'd call him tomorrow, he needed to sit on it for a while. She grabbed her pajamas and turned to remove her dress when she spotted the window in the far corner of her room. It was wide open and broken. Ella's heart sped up and she put her hand protectively over her stomach.

"I thought I'd never see you again Ella." his voice said right behind her. Ella couldn't help the involuntary jump as she felt him behind her. Her room door closed and she instantly felt for the phone in the pocket of her dress, trying not to get caught. She decided to talk to him.

"How'd you find me?" she asked slowly. Her hand tightened around the phone. She knew if she pulled it out and turned it on the light would illuminate the room and she couldn't risk that.

"I followed you all from your mom's house to the airport. Waited until they left and then asked them where that plane was headed. There's a ton of hospitals here, so it took me a while to find you, but once I did it was only a matter of watching you and finding out where you lived." He said. Ella nodded and clicked her phone on in her pocket, she couldn't see, but she'd programmed 911 as speed dial 1, just in case.

"Oh no no no!" he grabbed her hand and ripped it out of her pocket. He spun her around and white hot pain tore through her stomach. Her eyes shot open and she looked down to her stomach where the large steak knife was sticking out. It was her knife, from her own kitchen. She couldn't speak as his hand wrapped around the hilt and he ripped it out of her. Her hands scrambled to cover the wound as blood ran in between her fingers. She dropped to her knees and he kneeled down in front of her.

"I wish I could have gotten to have more fun with you, but you always have to ruin it, who cares, we can still have a little fun before all that blood runs out." he said. Ella couldn't feel anything, her body was numb, and all she could think about was the fact that he'd stabbed her in the stomach where her small baby was. Her eyes sank shut as he stood. She fell backward, unable to hold herself up anymore as Bennet started to take his clothes off.

Kelly stood out on the street in front of Ella's building, pacing back and forth, he needed to go apologize, right now. Hell yeah he was scared out of his mind right now, but she was important to him, and she was right, he was just as much at fault as she was. He finally went up to the door and hit the button to her apartment, he waited and waited, but she didn't pick up. Finally he sighed and hit Maggie's button.

"Hello?" she answered after a minute.

"Hey Maggie, it's Kelly. Ella and I had a little fight but I really want to apologize, can you buzz me in?" he asked. The buzzer sounded and Kelly opened the door. He headed down the hallway and knocked loudly on her door. He waited and waited, but no one answered.

"Ella!" he called. Maggie's door opened and she held her hand out, a key sat in her palm.

"Go check on her." Maggie said with a sigh. Kelly nodded his thanks as he took the key and she returned to her home, closing the door. Kelly slid the key in the lock and pushed the door open. As soon as he was in the home he heard a quick movement and a loud grunt, he rushed into her room. The sight before him made his knees buckle, nearly causing him to fall. Ella was laying on the floor, her hands covering a wound on her stomach as blood ran in between them, but the man over her, almost naked was what made Kelly nearly kill over.

"What the hell?" he asked quickly. The man leapt up, knife in hand and ran at Kelly. Kelly jumped into action, he swung at the man, he ducked quickly but came back up. He was clearly insane and all Kelly could think about was getting to Ella. The man swung the knife at Kelly, successfully slashing his arm, not to bad though, Kelly rebounded quickly. He swung back and hit the man hard across the jaw, he crumbled and Kelly kicked the knife away. The man was shaking his head, trying to get his bearings when Maggie came running in.

"Ella!" she screamed.

"Maggie, call 911, now!" Kelly yelled. Maggie nodded furiously and rushed from the room. Kelly pulled his fist back and slammed it into the man's face again, and again, anger taking over his body as he repeatedly hit the man in the face, nose, mouth, eyes.

"Kelly…stop." Ella mumbled. Her small words broke him out of his stupor and he stumbled away from him and to her side, dropping down to his knees he gathered her in his arms.

"Oh god no, come on Ella, stay awake ok?" he said gently. He looked down and saw blood seeping through her fingers. Her hands were shaking and she couldn't hold them still. Kelly grabbed her tank top that lay on the floor and he bunched it up.

"Move your hands baby." He said softly. She slowly pulled her hands away and Kelly pushed the tank top down on the wound. She moaned and arched upward but he held her tightly.

"Shh, it's ok, you'll be fine, it's going to be fine." He said as calmly as he could. Truth was he was scared out of his mind, he didn't know if she was going to be ok, she was bleeding a lot, and in his experience blood loss like this was dangerous.

"The…baby." Ella mumbled, her green eyes opening and closing slowly. Kelly's heart raced more, he'd completely forgotten about the baby. It was in her stomach, the same place where the knife had gone.

"I don't know baby, I don't know." he said shaking his head. He heard the ambulance getting closer and closer. Ella closed her eyes and Kelly shook her lightly.

"Ella, Ella, come on sweetie, come on please open your eyes." he begged. He heard the ambulance pull up in front of the building, but Ella's eyes didn't open, and her chest didn't move.

"Ella! Come on!" he said shaking her. Nothing, nothing at all. The paramedics rushed in, he recognized them, but couldn't recall their names. His hands were removed and he was pulled away gently as they took over. He sat back on his ass, watching as they worked furiously, he couldn't do anything as tears sprang to his eyes. He didn't know what to do. He was helpless for the first time in a long time.

* * *

Kelly paced the waiting room, his hands continually moving over his face and over his head. His mind was going 90 to nothing, he fell down into a chair and ran his hands across his face, finally dropping them into his lap. He looked down at the red spots on his hands, where her blood had been. He stood back up quickly, his head snapped up as the front doors opened. Shay, Casey, Dawson, and the Chief came rushing in.

"What are you all doing here?" he asked slowly.

"When you didn't answer I called Ella's phone, her neighbor answered and told me what happened. I called Dawson, she called Casey, he called the Chief." Shay said. Kelly nodded quickly and turned as he heard the ER doors open. It was just another family member of a patient.

"What happened Kelly?" The chief asked.

"Her Ex husband, he's crazy, he broke into her place, stabbed her." he said swallowing a hard lump in his throat.

"Shit." Shay said.

"Yea, I don't know anything yet." He said looking back toward the doors. Shay put her hand on his shoulder and squeezed.

"You guys don't need to stay. Thanks for coming, I know she'll appreciate it, I'll let her know." Kelly said. He wasn't even facing them as he talked, completely ignoring the fact that they were there.

"Have you eaten Kelly, maybe you should sit down?" Dawson said slowly. Kelly realized that he was probably in shock, but he didn't really care.

"I ate dinner with Ella, not hungry." He said.

"Kelly it is nearly 5 AM." Casey said. His eyes widened slightly, he had no clue he'd been here that long. He realized what time it was though when Maggie appeared at the front doors, a child on each hand. She came rushing in and quickly sat both children down before she turned to Kelly.

"Anything?" she asked. Kelly shook his head and offered her a tight smile before he went back to pacing. Maggie turned to the group and stuck her hand out.

"Maggie, Ella's neighbor." She said.

"Shay, Kelly's roommate."

"Dawson, work with him."

"Casey, fellow lieutenant."

"Chief Boden, his boss."

Maggie nodded her head and took each of their hands before she glanced at Kelly. He was completely out of it. His eyes were vacant, his hands and clothes bloody, he was barely acknowledging anyone. Maggie approached him and took his arm to stop his pacing.

"Kelly, listen to me. You need to eat something and relax, she's going to be fine." Maggie said as reassuringly as she could. His vacant eyes stared at her for a long moment before they briefly closed tightly. When they opened Maggie could see unshed tears there, peeking at the corners of his eyes. Maggie grabbed him and pulled him into a hug. Kelly's arms slowly wrapped around her and she hugged him back. Despite the fact that his friends where here, he still found comfort in that hug. He pulled away quickly when the doors opened and a doctor walked out.

"Ella Dennison?" the man asked. Kelly stepped forward.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Nichols, first let me say how much I enjoy working with Ella, she really is a great girl." He said as he opened the file. Kelly nodded quickly, just wishing he would get on with it.

"Ok, the knife punctured her stomach and she suffered a lot of blood loss. We managed to go in and repair the damage done by the knife to her body. We gave her a blood transfusion and put her on some fluids. She's out right now, but we expect her to make a full recovery." He said smiling. Kelly let out the breath he was holding and a smile appeared on his face, but there was still one reason his breath was still not coming out like it was supposed to.

"And the baby?" he asked. He knew the men and women around him had heard him, but he didn't care. The doctor sighed and pursed his lips.

"Unfortunately we've been unsuccessful in getting a heartbeat on the baby. It's been through a lot tonight and I'm just not sure if a fetus that young could make it." he said slowly. Kelly's heart sank quickly, it dropped down to his stomach and he felt nauseas.

"What should I tell her?" he asked.

"Nothing until we know for sure. She should be waking up soon. She's on the second floor, room 212." He said. Before Kelly let him walk away he quickly spoke up,

"The guy that was brought in with her, Bennet, how is he?" Kelly asked. The doctor sighed and pursed his lips again.

"I'm only saying this because Ella is a friend, she's safe, he won't be coming after her again. He's dead, blunt force trauma to the head, self defense." He said. Kelly nodded and thanked him.

"Baby?" Shay asked when he turned around. Kelly didn't want to deal with the probing questions of his friends right now, but he felt he should at least give them a little explanation.

"Yeah, she's pregnant." he said. He saw the sad, heartfelt looks they gave him and he could barely stand it.

"I'm going up." he said quickly. Maggie suggested they all give him some time first and they nodded along as he left for the elevator. Kelly was in her room within minutes and he nearly lost it. She looked so fragile, her normally tanned skin was pale from blood loss, her body looked small and almost sank down into the bed. There were several IVs and cords running from her body and Kelly slowly sank down into the chair next to her. His hand shook slightly as he reached out and took her small hand. It didn't have any needles in it so he squeezed it gently.

"I'm so sorry this happened to you." He said shaking his head. He laid his head on the bed next to her and choked back tears. He felt movement, and he looked up quickly. Ella's eyes were open and she was staring down at him.

"Kelly." She said softly, barely a whisper.

"Hey, hey there, how are you feeling, do I need to get the nurse?" he asked.

"No, no I'm ok." She said shaking her head back and forth.

"I'm so so sorry Ella." he said quietly as tears formed in his eyes.

"No, no, I'm fine." She said lifting her hand and putting it on his cheek. He looked in her eyes and nodded.

"Is the baby ok?" she asked blinking back tears of her own. Kelly swallowed hard and shook his head.

"They don't know yet." He said. He watched as a few tears rolled down her cheek. He stood quickly and ran his fingers over her cheek and leaned down. He kissed the tears off her cheeks and leaned back just a little.

"We're going to be ok." He said.

"He's dead isn't he?" Ella asked.

"Who?" Kelly asked.

"Bennet, he's dead." She whispered.

"Yeah, he's dead. Blunt force trauma to the head." Kelly said softly. Ella closed her eyes and nodded.

"It's ok, you're safe, we're ok." He said.

"Kelly, I don't know." she said, her eyes still closed.

"I love you." Kelly said quickly. Ella's eyes shot up and she shook her head.

"No Kelly, you don't mean that." she said.

"I mean it, I mean it with every fiber in my body. I love you Ella Dennison, and I only realized it tonight when I almost lost you. I don't want that to happen again, ever again, I don't want to lose you Ella. I love you." He said. Ella smiled and nodded.

"Ok." She said.

"Ok?" he asked.

"I love you too Kelly." She said.


	22. Chapter 21

**This is it! Last chapter! I cannot thank you all enough for reading and reviewing this story, it was my first shot at Chicago Fire and I am so happy it was accepted by all of you. I will write more Chicago Fire, that I can promise. I love you all and I am so happy you all enjoyed this story.**

**Chapter 21 (7 months later)**

Ella parked her car outside the firehouse and slipped out quickly. She grabbed her and Kelly's lunch and she made her way up the walkway and in the double doors leading to the dining area. She spotted Kelly sitting at the table with Shay, Dawson, and Casey, all chatting back and forth as the other guys walked around, making jokes, laughing, things progressing as normal. Kelly looked up and spotted her. She smiled, his surgery had gone perfectly and he'd returned to work as expected after following through with therapy exactly as they said. He was easing his way back into duty and Ella was so happy for him. He stood quickly and rushed over to her.

"Give me that." he said taking the large bag from her. Ella laughed and willingly handed over the bag.

"I'm not a flower Severide." She said.

"I know, how was work?" he asked as he dipped down and gave her a quick kiss.

"It was fine, tiring, I had to do a little running around, but not much." She said. Kelly nodded and ran his hand down her overly large stomach.

"How's it doing today?" he asked.

"Please stop calling her it." Ella said as Kelly walked her to the table. Ella sank down into an open seat and sighed, running her hands over her stomach.

"Well we don't know that it is a her or a him. So it is just…it." he said shrugging. Ella chuckled as Shay smiled sympathetically.

"How much longer?" she asked. Ella rolled her eyes and dropped her head back.

"I'm approaching 10 months. I want her to come on her own, but if she doesn't make a move soon I just might have to pull her out myself." Ella smirked. Kelly sat down next to her and sat their lunch out.

"So everything is fine, no abnormalities, no worries?" Kelly asked. Ella nodded and jerked as she kicked hard.

"Yeah, we're all good in there." she said. Her breathing was short, which was normal since she was so heavy.

"Feel." Ella said grabbing Shay's hand. Ella stuck it to her stomach right over her baby's foot as she slammed it into her side. Shay's eyes widened and she smiled.

"Wow, she's never kicked for me." Shay smiled.

"Don't take it personal, it kicks for everyone now. I think it's trying to force its way out." Kelly smirked.

"Well she's going the wrong way." Casey smirked.

"Hey Ella, how you feeling?" The Chief asked as he came out of his office.

"Tired, sore, and fat." She smiled. He chuckled and patted her on the back gently.

"She'll be here before you know it." he said.

"Why does everyone keep calling it a she?" Kelly asked through a mouth full of food.

"Because my child is not an it. Despite not knowing the sex, I refuse to call her an it." Ella said grabbing his chin and pulling him to her. He swallowed the food and Ella pressed her lips to his.

"Well you're going to feel like a real smarty pants when it comes out a he." Kelly said.

"Keep dreaming baby." Ella smirked.

* * *

**4 years later**

Kelly pulled off his equipment slowly, making sure to put it all up in the appropriate places. Casey was next to him and they were going back and forth about the fire that had just happened.

"So how are you and Dawson?" Kelly asked.

"We're good, really good. I got the ring sized right today and she gets it back tomorrow." He said.

"Good, that's great man." Kelly said. Casey nodded as they headed out of the room and into the lobby.

"Severide, phone call!" The chief called. Kelly's eyes widened slightly and Casey turned to him.

"Ella." he said quickly. He rushed into the office and grabbed the phone. She was the only person that ever called him at work and only when it was an emergency.

"Ella?" he asked quickly.

"Kelly! It's Luke, he was outside and I wasn't really watching him as good as I should have been, he fell out of the tree and I think he broke his arm, I don't know what to do, we're at the hospital, I'm such a bad mom, oh god, they are going to take him away, this is all my fault!" she wailed into the phone and Kelly could not help but smile.

"Calm down, I'll be there in just a minute." He said.

"Ok." She mumbled through a whine. Kelly hung the phone up and hurried from the office.

"Chief got to go." he said quickly.

"Ella?" he asked.

"No, Luke fell, hurt his arm." He said.

"Give him our love!" Shay yelled as he rushed out the door.

* * *

He arrived at the hospital moments later and hurried into the ER. Ella was frantic, pacing back and forth in the waiting room, chewing her nails, and crying.

"Thank god you're here, I didn't mean to Kelly, I should have been watching him, I stepped inside for two seconds to use the bathroom and I heard him yell. When I got out there he wasn't even crying, he just said his arm hurt and it looked broken. I don't know what happened Kelly." She said faster than he'd ever heard her talk. Kelly smiled and pulled her into a hug. Their young son was fast, loud, and mischievous, but he was an angel to his parents, they both adored him, Ella especially, he was her first child, and after what had happened in the beginning of her pregnancy she was scared every time he got a cold.

"Calm down baby. He is fine, it's not your fault, boys will be boys, they break bones, they get sick, they fall down, things happen. Relax, you don't need this added stress." He said shaking his head. Ella's small bump was pressed against his lower stomach as they hugged, finally Ella took a deep breath and nodded.

"Ok, I'm calm." She said slowly.

"Luke Severide?" The doctor said coming in.

"You two can come on back, he's fine." The doctor smiled and led them around the corner and into the small ER bay. His arm was wrapped from just below his elbow down around his hand in a bright green cast.

"His wrist is fractured, no breaks, he needs to keep this on for 6 weeks and then we should be all good." The doctor smiled. Kelly looked at his son where he sat on the table; he was all smiles as he looked down at his newest accessory. His hair was black as night, like his mothers, but his eyes were blue, just like Kelly's.

"Oh my baby." Ella said wrapping him in a hug.

"Are you ok?" Kelly asked. The little boy looked up and beamed.

"I'm fine daddy. It only hurt for a minute." He said. Kelly nodded and ran his hand over his son's head, he pulled him over and kissed the top of his head.

"He's ok, yeah, you're ok right baby?" Ella asked as she put both hands on his face and looked at him.

"Yes mommy." He smiled and leaned forward, kissing her nose. Ella smiled and kissed his in return.

"Let's get you two home, I need to get back to work." He said opening his hand. Luke took his father's much bigger hand and hopped off the table. Kelly led them out to the car and helped his son into the backseat, making sure he was buckled tightly. He took Ella's hand and lifted it to his lips, gently kissing the top of it. His fingertips ran over the 3 carat diamond on her finger and he leaned forward and kissed her lips.

"I'll be home soon." He said. Ella nodded and ran her hand over her stomach.

"Maybe we won't get into any more trouble today." She said. Kelly laughed and kissed her goodbye.

* * *

**4 years later**

Ella stood next to Shay and Dawson in the kitchen as they finished icing the cake. Ella looked up as the front door opened and her son walked in, his arms full of chips.

"Bring those in here baby!" Ella called. Ella looked toward the door again as a head full of black wavy hair rushed through, waving streamers in her hand.

"Mia, stop running!" Ella called as her 4 year old daughter rushed past her and into the yard. Kelly was next to walk through the door, his left arm full of sodas, the other carrying an almost two year old boy, who refused to walk if you were willing to carry him. Ella sighed and handed the spoon to Shay as she walked into the living room.

"Jake, you little booger, come here." Ella said pulling him from his father's side. Ella put him on his feet and his hands shot up, grabbing at her shirt.

"No sir Jake, go play with your sister." She said pointing. His bottom lips shot out but he turned and ran into the backyard where his sister was playing with Shay and Emma's little boy Charlie, and Dawson and Casey's little girl Bethany.

"Stop carrying him, he knows you will if he pouts long enough." Ella said taking one of the sodas from Kelly's arm full.

"We're done having kids right?" he asked with a smirk. Ella wrinkled her nose and stood on her tip toes, kissing him.

"Yeah, four is the magic number." She said as they walked into the kitchen.

"I'm going to help Casey with the grill." Kelly said walking out the backdoor. Ella nodded and Shay returned the spoon to her.

"So why four Ella?" Shay asked.

"We were going to stop at Luke, but then we said he needed a playmate, so we had Mia, well we stopped after that, used birth control just in case, I used the shot this time, but I missed an appointment because I had a really important meeting and we ended up with Jake. At three we wanted to stop, but then I was reminded of my family, I'm the oldest, my sister is the middle child, and my brother is the baby, and I honestly did not want Mia turning out with Middle child syndrome and ending up like my sister, so we tried again and ended up with Bryn." She smirked.

"Well we have Charlie and Sarah is on the way, and I think we're done after that." Shay said. Dawson nodded along, "We were done at Beth. I can't do it again, she is a handful as is." Dawson smiled. Ella opened her mouth to speak but the baby monitor turned red as a cry broke out.

"Someone is awake." Shay smiled.

"Be right back." Ella said hurrying down the hallway and into the last room. She peeked over the rails at her little girl as she sat back and wailed.

"Hey, hey, now, enough of that." she said slipping her hands under her arms and lifting her up. The 4 month old sniffled and stopped crying as her mother cradled her in her arms.

"You're awfully loud for a baby." She smiled as they walked out of the room.

"We're ready when you are Ella." Shay said. Ella nodded and followed them out the back door and to the table.

"Kids, come sit down!" she yelled. The five kids came rushing to the table and the parents wrangled them and fixed plates. Kelly quickly fixed plates for their three kids and sat them in front of them, he'd master plating food quickly. He made his plate and Ella's and brought them over. Ella held Bryn in one arm as she lifted the hot dog.

"We did a good job." Ella said.

"With the food?" Kelly asked.

"Not just the food. With it all Kelly Severide. The house, the babies, this hectic life we have." She said. Kelly nodded and smirked at the way she said his full name and they met in the middle with a kiss.

Kelly leaned in and whispered, "No, we did great Ella Severide…perfect."


End file.
